Phuong Uyen Tran's eye-opening study time in Singapore

	Benefits of new layers of management to THP
	Enhancing the company's decision-making with important transitions at board level
	The premise to help THP expand scale toward exponential growth

Phuong Uyen Tran

I was seeing globalization firsthand and Singapore is a true entrepot of people and international trade. It was the opportunities it offered and realized there was so much to learn. I redoubled my studies to earn my degree. For my graduation thesis, I chose a project about Heineken, a Dutch-based beer company. The experience proved invaluable as I saw how one multinational develops projects and manages its brands close up.

In the meantime, I also had to earn some spare cash, so far, job in a restaurant/bar as a promotional girl. My job was to welcome guests and encourage patrons to buy more beer. I worked from five o'clock to eleven o'clock at night.

There was a small fixed salary, but the bulk of my income came from commissions based on how much beer patrons purchased. I soon became adept at the art of being friendly without crossing boundaries or creating expectations.

Being exposed to the Heineken organization made me wonder whether I should join a multinational or return home to THP. I was twenty-two years old and had to decide which path to take. Should I stay in Singapore and prepare myself for a career at a multinational? Or return to Vietnam?

I knew the big advantage of working outside the family business would be the ability to own my achievements and failures. Family relationships would not benefit or protect me. Any respect my colleagues showed me would be earned, not grudgingly bestowed because I was related to the owner. Moreover, by working in an established company, I would be able to compare and contrast the operations of a developed organization with a family-owned one.

There was one particular instance where I adopted my father’s "nothing is impossible" attitude. It was in 2000, the start of a new millennium, and yet none of the students had individual access to the Internet. They either had to go to a shared service at the university or pay to use one of the new Internet cafes popping up across the city.

I really wanted my own line. The owner of the homestay where I was living was hostile to the idea and tried to make it difficult for me. But I persevered. I visited the post office and registered for Internet service. I assembled all the necessary paperwork.

I was a mere college student, but I was aware that Singaporean bureaucrats follow rules to the letter. It can be very frustrating, but if residents know their way around the system, then they can often get what they want. Three days later I had functioning Internet in my room.

As I entered my teenage years, I started to question my parents as most children of that age do. My father can be very stubborn and controlling, but he is also a very good listener, and if someone can marshal his or her arguments coherently, then he will generally agree. One of my biggest tests in this regard was where I should study.

I was very keen to go abroad. I really wanted to be exposed to new ideas and different points of view. I had also begun studying English and wanted to put those language skills to use. So, I had my eye on several universities in the US, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

But my father was very resistant. His general view on education is that "we study well because of our own efforts and not because of the school we go to. One school is the same as any other if we don't put in the effort."

He had even stronger views about studying abroad. Overseas universities are for the ignorant and stupid because they want to escape school and are scared of failing the university entrance exam, he said. "Show me your results and then we can talk.”

I was determined to prove him wrong and studied incredibly hard for the exam. I passed, and. 1 still consider it one of the key milestones of my life. A month of further negotiation ensued before he eventually relented and said I could attend university in the US.

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