Fame and success requires guts and sacrifices

Take a look at Thai actor Willy McIntosh. Before, he did not have to fight for fame, given his gorgeous look. Time passes and now he turns himself to a pseudo comedian. As laughter is what he is after, he could do anything funny including licking ice cube in his TV show.

Dome Pakorn Lum, one of best-selling stars now, admitted that he has amassed huge saving through years of work. Yet, comparing himself to a car, in a recent TV interview, he said he is still running at the fifth gear or the full speed as his life is not yet perfect.  

Corporate chiefs are also living a requiring life. 

Kreingkrai and Kreingkarn Kanjanapokin, co- chief executive officers of Index Creative Village, now spend most of their time on plane, as the organising company is expanding its wings to Vietnam and Burma. Their staff are about to have them dressed with “sarong”, due to the frequent visits to Burma. No matter how tiring the trips could be, they have to seize the beachheads as Burma is now attracting investments. How could they leave a new market behind?

For success, strategies and implementation are the key. 

Many corporate chiefs fall into the abyss along with their companies when the strategies failed.

All property reporters 20 years ago still remembered the glory the Kanjanapas family enjoyed. Then, Bangkok Land was glorified as the nation’s biggest developer. A sister firm, Tanayong, also stunned all commuters on Bangna-Trat Road with the 14 high-rise condominium blocks, constructed when there were few high-rise buildings in the inner city area.

Sirivat Voravetvuthikun should also understand the experience. A graduate in finance from the University of Texas in Austin, he got into property business and he plunged along the stock market in the 1997 financial crisis. He had the guts to invest hugely in the stock market in search of fortune. Yet, overnight, he was in a trash and he slowly built up the broken pieces by selling sandwiches. He has returned to the stock market, but this time he is extra-careful. 

It is not an easy life, though, for successful chiefs.

Chanin Vongkusolkij, chief of Banpu – the country’s largest coal company, has to travel often given that Indonesia is now the company’s second headquarter. Once in a while, he has to board a very small plane to coal mines. It’s not an enjoyable experience, given the loud noise and the cranking sound. In the plane, you have to place your life in the hands of god and exhale loudly when it touches the ground. 

If there is any corporate chief who still can balance work and life, included is Kan Trakulhoon, chief of Siam Cement Group. He is busy expanding the group, which involves a lot of travelling. After eye operation recently, he still went to office even to have his secretary read all stuff to him. Yet, once in a while, he still could live an easy life, like coming down from his condominium and buy ready meals like pot-stewed Palo in front of the soi.

Balance is a key here, for ones to cope with undesirable fate.

I do admire former finance minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala for his energy. On his Facebook page on Friday, he opposed a government plan concerning government stake in PTT. Indeed, the posting, just days after losing the much-wanted job, shows his emotional equilibrium is well-maintained. That is awesome, as you all know that he lost the job because of this kind of opposition.

My concern is now on Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul. He sacrificed huge pays to take the job, which requires many things from hours of work to hours of reading. When the euro zone crisis was at its peak, the man – good at comparisons - still had funny words. “The grey clouds could turn black”. But now facing the Financial Institutions Development Fund-related storms, his speech is getting dull.

Guts and sacrifices are not enough. Prasarn needs a very strong wind to blow away the black clouds.