From humility to wise budgeting and selling the sizzle

FROM humility to wise budgeting and selling the sizzle
This week we get thoughts and views from travel portal AirAsiaGo General Manager Darren Goh.

How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
I lost a few years when I was younger due to a personal tragedy and though I had a lot to catch
up on after, I managed to get back on track and move steadily towards my objectives and goals.
I like structure and I believe that with proper organisation, as long as one is disciplined and focused, both individual and organisational goals can be achieved effectively.

What traits do you look for in your talent or how do you decide who is right for a job?
I go with people who have a lot of fire and who are hungry, as well as those who show true passion for the job. Also, I value people who are loyal and will stay long enough time to make an impact and build up their profile. Basically, they need to believe in themselves enough to nurture their work credibility.

How do you think the industry you are in will evolve in the future?
The travel industry will definitely be mobile-centric and with new disruptors in the scene, the conventional travel agency should look towards becoming more technologically-inclined services because technology has already begun to power the way people travel.
From the product perspective, we are living in an increasingly data-driven economy and with test and learn results and actual feedback received from consumers, we now have scientific measurements that will lead to the creation of products derived from their feedback, tweaked and made more relevant with local nuances.

What advice can you offer those looking to start their career/own business?
Career is like running a marathon, you have to set realistic goals to know what you need to do to get to where you want to be. You have to empower yourself with enough knowledge and be fully prepared, instead of just being blindly ambitious. Aside from self-discipline, pace your career growth in tandem with what you actually can do.

We all know about the industrial revolution, are we in for a technological revolution? Your thoughts
We are already living in the age of technology. Take our travel industry as an example. Technology today empowers our travel experience – virtual reality allows us to consume and interact with information in new ways and we are able to experience the ambience and facilities of the hotel rooms before we even reach.
Artificial Intelligence is also playing a vital role, making us privy to travellers' wants and preferences through machine learning. As we embrace this world of technology, we enrich our experience through virtual reality and are now equipped to do better data-mining via artificial intelligence, to automate processes and reduce human errors.

How has mentorship made a difference in your professional life?
I have met many amazing people but three particular individuals made a big impact in my
professional life. Through my time working with them, I have learned these few points:
A) I learnt early on in my career from a well-respected editor, that humility is key.
B) A chairman from a renowned, family-run travel agency taught me everything I know on
Business Procurement, how to fairly distribute and use resources, and how to spend budgets wisely to get the most out of each dollar.
C) A high-powered businesswoman in the travel industry taught me about brand marketing and how to be more commercial-minded and the importance of selling the sizzle.

What do you want to accomplish in the next five years?
It has always been a dream of mine to own a chain of budget boutique hotels.

Best piece of advice you ever got on your career.
Don't take no for an answer.

Most admired business leader? Why?
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes. He is an Asian who has achieved so much today and he is still not done yet, he is still hungry to do even bigger and better things. I also admire the way he treats his employees with openness and transparency.

How do you stay abreast of issues affecting your industry?
We are living in a virtual world today, and we have a continuous flow of information at our fingertips.
Aside from attending conferences like Web in Travel & Phocuswright, to get hold of the industry news and thoughts from influential leaders and reading what is shared amongst the mainstream media, I sign-up with related sites that can furnish us with current information from the industry.
Further to that, networking is key as it gives us access to information, such as advice and problem solving assistance, by keeping in touch with the people in the industry. On top of that, we have a strong research and data in-house distribution team, who constantly monitor the market, competitors' news and current trends.

If you could have an hour with any thought leader in the world, who would it be and why?
Robert Kiyosaki. By reading his books, we learn how to broaden the spectrum of being beyond an employee. His writings also help to reset and re-adjust our career mindset, from being an employee to becoming an entrepreneur.

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced? and what did you learn from it?
I lost someone very dear to me when I was younger. I have since learned the importance of prioritisation in life and how to value things that we often take for granted.

What was the most outlandish business proposal you have ever heard of?
We received a lot of proposals from potential partner companies. However, the objectives and end goals of some of these proposals tend to be one-sided, mostly benefitting the requesting party, instead of being mutually beneficial.

What man made innovation confounds you? Why?
The Internet. Without the invention of the Internet, we wouldn't have AirAsiaGo.com today, and life as we know it, would be completely different!

Malaysia's greatest brand.
AirAsia.

A must-read for every business owner/manager is …
Any of Robert Kiyosaki's books.

How do you expect policies on climate change to impact businesses in the future?
Everything comes back to cost – with climate change, we witness visible changes to the landscape
of renowned sites and attraction points and when this happens, the quota for visitors and travellers will significantly reduce, as it slowly becomes a premium location.
In the same way, many corporations include options for their customers to offset carbon footprints such as the airline industry – and this too, reflects in an increased cost for travellers.

What are the top three factors you would attribute to your success?
1. Family
2. Good diverse mentors
3. Experience working in a world-class company