Why do you want to serve as 2nd Vice President? My 20 years of active involvement in Toastmasters has made me fully aware that the organization is an important part of my life and that I whole-heartedly embrace the vision and mission of Toastmasters International. I also recognize that my skill and experience in managing international businesses in changing global environments is a valuable asset to TI as we move toward the organization's Big Audacious Goals.
What experience and key strengths do you bring to the
Executive Committee? 1)
Three decades of hands on experience in strategic
management, financial planning and leadership development in an international context by way of my own companies as well as in my invested ventures. 2) A Multicultural background and facility in four languages allows me a high level of comfort and ease in working with people from different backgrounds. Three of my companies of which I am CEO are joint ventures with foreign companies, demanding a high level of cross cultural understanding built on a foundation of established international business practices. 3) The 3 key factors to which I attribute the many successes in my long term business career as well as my personal life are the same as the Toastmasters core values, i.e. Integrity, Respect for Individuals and Service Leadership. Operating on these three personal qualities I have been able to more easily exercise the appropriate judgment and decisions in difficult times.
What successes do you have as a Toastmasters leader? 1) During my term as LGM in 2002/3 I led the team in completing the District's first realignment, something that had been unsuccessfully tried in past years. Since then, district realignment has become an annual practice as D-67 experiences rapid growth. 2) As LGET (2003-4), I was instrumental in achieving the TI approval for creating a permanent Mandarin translation committee. This body has already translated a series of Toastmasters manuals, brochures and magazine articles. This move made possible a new dimension of non-English clubs not only in Taiwan but in other Asian Districts. 3) Created D67’s first Division dedicated to Non-English clubs encompassing 4 languages ie. Mandarin, Japanese, Taiwanese and Hakka. 4) Achieved Select Distinguished in my year as DG. 5) Elected Division Governor of the Year and served with distinction in the District Top 3. 6) Instrumental in initiating Korea’s first Toastmasters Conference in 2008. Served as Spring Conference keynote speaker in China, Japan, India and Taiwan. 7) Through mentoring young leaders in universities, Toastmasters campus clubs in Taiwan have grown rapidly in the last 7 years from 6 to the current 20 representing 15% of District 67 clubs, and therefore, making significant and lasting inroads to the youth market.. 8) Sponsored Taiwan’s first gavel club in 2004, in addition to 5 other clubs.
Are you a team leader? You can’t be a good leader without being a team player. This means considering everyone’s point of view, acknowledging
when someone else would be a better leader for the project and being willing to
stand aside in support of others. As a team player although I may not always fully
agree with the final decision, but I will fully support the consensus of the group. For this reason I believe I am both a good leader and a good team member. What experiences have you had in strategic planning? International business is by nature fast changing and ever turbulent. Besides the usual uncertainties in business one must also deal with externalities such as currency fluctuation, international relations, trend shifts, and so on. This ever changing landscape requires a keen awareness and anticipation of changes that could outdate a business model and even an entire industry. Today it is a given that one must periodically adjust strategies in order to succeed or even survive. In some aspects one must literally reinvent oneself at least every decade. In sum, strategic planning is central to my job as CEO. In our trading company, Great Sequoia Corp., we went through three major transformations from our roots as a Taiwan buying office for a global group of trading companies, to an independent trading house responsible for its own bottom line to now an industrial supply chain with its own manufacturing bases.
What experiences have you had in the area of finance? In my three decades as an entrepreneur, I have gone through all aspects of running businesses, from start-ups to closing, from acquisitions to sale of companies and recapitalizations to restructuring, all of which involves financial planning to support the different life cycles of business.
What experiences do you have with restructuring global organizations? In the dynamics of international business, restructuring is necessary to change business models to suit the internal and external needs of the organization. I have taken the lead in corporate spin offs, acquisitions, capital restructuring, plant sales, relocations and management changes. One such example is creating an international joint venture by bringing in a Canadian distribution company to join forces with a small local industrial valve company. In the 15 year transformation from a small family business to an international company we had to go through relocations, recapitalizations and a corporate restructuring in order to support significant growth.
As a leader in Toastmasters what priorities do you see that the Board must deal with over the next several years?
How can Toastmasters attract younger members into the organization and get them to become interested in leadership positions within Toastmasters? The D67 of Taiwan has been remarkably successful in this regard. Well over 15% of our 140 clubs are campus clubs and we are proud to say that the youth market is our fastest growing sector. The word has spread that “Toastmasters is a great place to grow with fun!” Today, student clubs have their own Campus Union organization with its own leaderships and engine of growth. Indeed, the campus clubs have their own fun loving energetic culture that is different from the mainstream adult clubs. The young are recruiting and building other young clubs. This could be a successful model for others to use. A specific idea is to have Toastmasters work with universities to give class credits for educational achievements such as CC and AC.
What do you think of the current Distinguished District program? Would you recommend any changes and if so, why? The current DDP is an excellent benchmark motivating our districts around the world to achieve and excel. I would recommend however, adding a membership retention measure.
We are so focused on attracting new members that we tend to neglect
efforts to retain them. According to one statistic, the average Toastmaster
stays in the club for between 18 to 22 months. This reflects a major weakness in our efforts
and is akin to building a castle on a beach. Another recommendation I would make is to create a level beyond DTM that would recognize communication and leadership in the higher dimension that touches the heart and soul. It can involve powerful listening and dialogue that will create new dynamics in individual relationships and groups. |