“A road though filled with roses may also get one’s feet injured by their thorns” (Road to Victory song by The Walls). Pham Quang Dung, President of TASCO Joint Stock Company, does not think his road is filled with roses, but it is full of sweats, slips and injuries. He is nearly 60 but he still carries strong energy and enthusiasm. On the occasion of Vietnam Entrepreneurs Day (October 13), Vietnam Business Forum interviewed him on his life and career. Duy Anh reports.
The proof of pudding is in the eating
Why did you quit your job in the State-funded agency to do your own business?
I used to work for the Water Resources Department in Hai Hau District, Nam Dinh Province. In the 1980s, Nam Dinh province was still poor and travelling to and from the province was very difficult. We had to stand in a very long queue to buy a ticket. I came up with the idea of buying a rudimentary truck to carry construction materials for local stores and transport passengers. In 1995, I joined Hai Hau Construction Company.
TASCO was once on a brink of bankruptcy. How did you recover it?
The first difficulty was how to convince provincial authorities, because I was then a low-level accountant. They weighed up and down before making me the deputy director of the company. But, their support and trust grew and that helped me have more confidence to revive TASCO.
At that time, I had to settle debts and reshuffle a disunited workforce. In 2000, the company’s assets were nearly VND600 million. The decision to go public was a right decision for me and TASCO. Then, the company managed to raise VND7 billion to fund business operations.
As Chairman of TASCO and recently of Thang Long Construction Corporation, what lessons have you learnt during your career?
For me, TASCO was not simply hardship but badly injured body. You will lose money to whatever you don’t know. So, finding a mentor is very important. Initially, we spent a lot of time and money on finding appropriate advisors.
Orientation is a dear lesson for me. When I started my business, I was very happy because I saw opportunities everywhere. TASCO invested into a lot of fields, ranging from restaurants, resorts and hotels to waste processing and real estate. Meanwhile, traffic construction, the core of TASCO, was out of focus.
Corporate governance strategies
So, what strategy is TASCO currently focusing on?
In addition to focusing resources on expertise, keeping prestige, focusing on product quality and promoting internal unity are a must. Whether the company develops or goes far or not depends very much on human resources. At TASCO, our business philosophy is "The satisfaction of customers and shareholders is our very success." In the meantime, success also makes employees satisfied. When you unite them, they will work with all their heart.
Most companies care about cash flow in the context of economic crisis; why are you particularly focused on human resource management?
Corporate governance is one of my passions. For me, Vietnamese companies lack systematic knowledge of business administration in general and human resource management in particular. Curricula on human resource management are primarily based on statistical methods, payroll regime, remunerations and compensations rather than actualities. For me, to build up a strong position on the market, we must have a well-managed human resources system which comprises checkpoint and classifying systems. Then, we can keep talents with us.
The man of great inspiration
"Knowledge is like fire. We get it from a neighbour’s house and light it in our house, give it to others, and it becomes the property of everyone.”
Do you join many conferences and forums as a speaker as before?
I always wish to have met teachers undergoing ups and downs like me, I would have not paid so dearly for my own mistakes. Talking to businessman stuck in deadlock, I am really sympathetic because that is exactly what I experienced.
A successful person usually has high emotional index. Where does emotion come from? It comes from what you are experiencing. I always encourage my relatives, students and young entrepreneurs to take experience and start a business when they are young. You and I have the same starting points, no one is perfect. Failures are our properties.
On Vietnam Entrepreneurs Day, what message would you like to deliver to the Vietnamese business community - the warriors on the economic front?
Yes, I have a lot to say. Businesspeople must learn from each other. They should come to successful entrepreneurs to learn from their failures. The must focus on long-term targets and objectives.
National Highway 1A, partially done by TASCO, is evidently praised for quality. Product quality is a trust builder. Hence, enterprises must attach importance to corporate governance ISO standard-based quality management.
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