Back in July of 2017, I sat in a ball room at the Elian Hotel in San Antonio, TX for our Executive MBA kick-off retreat with 33 strangers who had a similar “what did I sign up for” look on their face. At the time, the idea of pursuing an MBA was new, exciting, ambitious and if I’m being honest a bit idealistic. It was also very scary to think I would be adding something else to my existing commitments for 22-months. I already had a demanding job, 3 young children and a wife with a growing career of her own. The MBA was something that Jess and I had talked about for years and as I stared down the last few years of my 30’s it was a “now or never” type of decision. The program is an intense 22-month stretch of collaborative in-classroom courses every other weekend. The carrot on the end of the stick for the program was the international trip. The goal would be to find ourselves in January 2019 sitting with a passport in hand as we boarded an airplane bound for a foreign country. For most of the program, we didn’t know exactly where we would be traveling but rumor even back in 2017 was that the program administrators were thinking of somewhere in Asia. Now I’ve spent time in Dubai, Thailand and India but was hopeful that I would end up in a new city or country that I’ve never been to. Fast forward 18-months to January 2019 and I found myself west bound for Singapore and Vietnam. This is my reflection piece on the 10-day international business trip which was a top-notch experience that encompassed business meetings with local companies and an immersion into the cities and cultures of Singapore and Vietnam. Although, the trip came and went by fast, the experience truly reinforced the material we have learned in the program up to this point and left a lasting impression on my professional career and personal life.
A Tale Of Two Cities
Singapore
What exactly is Singapore? This was a question I had to look up before the trip. The correct answer is that Singapore is a sovereign city-state. As for size, Singapore is only 276 square miles large. To put things in perspective that’s roughly half the size of the city of Los Angeles. Although, Singapore is physically small, economically it is a powerhouse. Some call it the gateway to Southeast Asia and for almost a century it has been the most modern progressive city in Asia. This highly developed free market economy with nearly 5.6 million people boasts low corruption, pro-business and openness. According to the IMF (International Monetary Fund) it’s the 3rd richest country in the world with a GDP of 323 Billion USD (2017). As we immersed ourselves in the city over the course of three days, we would get to see first-hand the diverse set of industries that keep its economy thriving. Although, manufacturing contributes the most to Singapore’s GDP, it has thriving financial services, technology and clean energy sectors that contribute to its leadership position in the world. The government of Singapore takes the form of a multi-party parliamentary system of representative democracy where the president of Singapore is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Singapore is the head of government. From the minute I stepped off the plane into the Changi International airport you could feel the cleanliness of the city. This cleanliness is a byproduct of a culture of discipline. Singaporean culture and laws place a lot of importance of discipline and it is perfectly acceptable to use corporal punishment for law infractions. A few times as we were shopping we even saw canes casually for sale for 50 cents in convenience stores. These canes are typically used for parental punishment and a perfectly acceptable norm. In addition to business meetings and MBA things, we had plenty of time to explore Singapore on our visit. I saw and experienced some of the most impressive things by just meandering around the city. A few mornings I organized a group run through the city and around the Marina Bay Sands. We caught the Southeast Asian sunrise where we saw lots of like-minded runners and a city waking up to progress and modernity. One evening our group missed a few turns and ended up walking upon a local food mart (Marshalls) where the food was inexpensive but authentic and the people were friendly and welcoming. The most surprising thing about Singapore was the cost of things. If I’m indexing to the cost of an alcoholic beverage, the price of a Tiger Lager in Singapore was north of $15 Singaporean dollars ($12 USD) pretty much at any bar you went to. Yes, a modern city with progress but a modern city that is very expensive. The location of the Oasia Hotel (our quarters for the trip) lent itself to easy access to the city and all its features. According to our tour guide, 75% of the people of Singapore are from Chinese descent and although there is a strong Chinese influence the city felt like a melting pot of a modern day internationally diverse and thriving city.
Vietnam
I honestly didn’t know what to expect from Vietnam. The obvious historical element of this country was enough to peak my interest and get me excited about this portion of the trip. Unless you have been under a rock for the last 50 years, you know that the Vietnam war was a long, costly and confusing part of world history and the impact on the U.S. had long lasting implications for many decades to come. The city we visited on our trip was Ho Chi Minh City formerly known as Saigon. Saigon was a significant city in the history of the Vietnam war because it was in this city where an attack led by the North Vietnamese on April 29th, 1975 that marked the official end of the Vietnam war and the beginning of the reunification of Vietnam under communist rule. Ho Chi Minh was the leader and President of North Vietnam during the war and the city was named after him after the fall of Saigon. More than four decades after the fall of Saigon, Vietnam is considered south-east Asia’s emerging tiger according to director.co.uk. The country of Vietnam boasts around 95M~ people and in 2017 its GDP was 223.9B (USD). The main economic drivers of its economy are food processing, textiles and mining and the companies we visited while we were there aligned to these industries. The people of Vietnam were extremely friendly, and the service industry was welcoming and warm to foreign tourists like us. I felt like there was a bigger sense of community in Vietnam than in Singapore, observed by watching the people in the evenings show up in the streets of Ho Chi Minh to socialize together over a soccer match or gather on the sidewalks for a meal. The hustle and bustle of scooters streaming through the cities gave a life to the evenings that was electrifying and vibrant. Colored lights radiated from the buildings in the skyline and the several roof top bars we visited in the evenings had a youthful and foreign vibe. The US dollar gets you a lot farther in Vietnam than in Singapore and it was fun paying for a Tiger Lager in Vietnam with 300k Dong (Vietnamese currency). In addition to spending most of the time in the city, we did get to take a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels during one of our free days. The Cu Chi tunnels are an immense network of underground tunnels that were used as the Viet Cong’s base operation during the Tet Offensive in 1968. Look up Tet Offensive, I had to but what I found out was that it was one of the largest Viet Cong attacks on the south Vietnamese and the US armed forces. This tour was a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, being able to experience a part of history was enthralling while at the same time a bit nauseous as I pondered on the significance of the tunnels and the fact that so many Americans died during the Tet offensive. Although, there was a stark difference between Singapore and Vietnam the contrast gave the trip a balanced perspective of the Asian cultural landscape.
Company Overview
The main purpose of our visit was to enrich our classroom learning by immersing ourselves into another country to observe and experience how things we learned about in our international business studies are really done on the ground. Up to this point in the program, the classroom material which included readings, case studies and simulation have been great, but in no way Reflections: Singapore and Vietnam compared to the lively discussions we were able to have with the companies we talked to. In total we met with six companies: Dell Singapore, Accelerasia, Conergy, Crocs, Esqel and a company called KOTO. All the companies represented different industries and challenges. Here is a breakdown of each of the companies and the highlights of our conversations.
Dell Singapore
When you think of Dell, you think of its pioneering “Direct Model” which it became famous for and successful in the 90’s. At the heart of this model is its supply chain excellence. Dell Singapore is the company’s strategic and main global operation and at the heart of its supply chain. Located in what the Dell representatives called the “gateway to Asia”, Singapore is a key part of its business because of its access to the rest of Asia via its location and ports. In our discussion with several of their leaders we found out that Singapore is the 2nd busiest port in terms of annual tonnage second only to Shanghai, China. 90% of all laptops are manufactured in China and Dell has leveraged Singapore’s location and logistics experience for competitive advantage. Like most companies these days, Dell talked about the need for Digital Transformation. Leveraging technology, Artificial Intelligence and data to drive its business is more important now than ever. A relevant conversation about the U.S. Trade War with China came up during our discussion which provoked a concerning tone from the Dell leadership team regarding the impact of a U.S. Trade War with China and its collateral damage to its well run supply chain excellence. This meeting was my second favorite discussions of the trip and I was blown away with the talent in the room from the Dell team.
Accelerasia
Singapore believe it or not is an up and coming entrepreneurial hub. Due to its liberal immigration policies for skilled workers and limited enforcement of non-compete clauses, this economic powerhouse like Israel is becoming a place that is a major driver of innovation. Accelerasia is a company that tries to capitalize on this. We met with the founder of the company a Dutch gentleman named Arnie Mostert who explained their business model as a company that leverages their strong knowledge and roots in Asia and the Middle East to drive expansion of fast-growing tech companies. Of all the companies we visited this business was the most confusing to me. Although, the nature of their work as a “hands-on” company lends itself to what I’m familiar with as a “consultant”, Accelerasia claims that they are not consultants but rather investors that accelerate growth of a company into Asia and invests accordingly. The one unique aspect of our conversation with Arnie was his willing to ask us for help. In closing out our discussion Arnie asked us if we knew of any U.S companies that wanted to enter South East Asia but wouldn’t want to do it on their own? We had a healthy conversation about the barriers to entry for U.S. companies to leverage company like Accelerasia versus doing it on their own.
Conergy
The last company we visited in Singapore was a company called Conergy which focuses on renewable energy specifically in the design, finance and build outs of high-performance solar systems for business and utility scale power. This conversation was a little more ad lib while the executive who spoke with us talked about how storage would be the game changer for the renewable energy market. Some key points of our conversation were focused on Singapore’s business friendly environment which boasts low corporate taxes (17%), lots of highly skilled workers and no capital gains tax. We spent most of the time discussing different parts of Asia and the Middle east and the cultural business norms of each.
Crocs/Esquel
In Vietnam, we had an opportunity to visit two types of manufacturing operations. First Crocs Vietnam was a great peak into Vietnam manufacturing. We spent time discussing the benefits of outsourcing manufacturing activities. We were able to take a tour of the actual manufacturing plan where the materials were molded and assembled. The facility was what I expected from my readings about manufacturing in Vietnam in that there was a lot of people doing very manual work using equipment that looked like it had been around since the industrial 50’s. Esqel was not much different. They were a leading producer of garments for Europe and US companies with a manufacturing facility that employee thousands of manual workers sewing, stitching and running the operation.
KOTO
Out of all the companies we met with KOTO was my favorite company and meeting. KOTO stands for “Know One, Teach One”. This unique company is a social enterprise based in Hanoi with training centers in Ho Chi Minh City. The founder of the company was a gentleman named Jimmy Pham who made a surprise appearance while we were all sitting in the room listening to his Director of Marketing give us an overview of the company. He immediately changed the energy in the room when he stepped in and talked passionately about the mission of his company and why he created it. Jimmy was a Vietnam native that left when his parents evacuated to Australia after the war. Decades later, he was on a business trip in Hanoi when he was in his 20’s when he came across a group of street kids that changed his life forever. He created and modeled KOTO with the purpose of giving at-risk disadvantaged youth a chance to learn skills and thrive in their lives. An amazing leader with great charisma that is being the change he wanted to see. I would encourage you to read more about KOTO online.
Personal Experience
There is a saying by Gustave Flaubert that goes something like this … “travel makes you modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world”. It’s been roughly three weeks since I have returned state-side from my trip abroad to Singapore and Vietnam. As mentioned earlier, I’ve spent time foreign over the last decade or so and every time I come home my perspective is broader, more diverse and tolerant. I look at the world through the lens of humanity and not just as an American citizen. Putting yourself in an unfamiliar environment grows you tremendously and forces you to absorb different ways of thinking. When I look back at the decision my family made two years ago when we decided I would pursue my MBA, it was purely based on getting a degree that I’ve long aspired to acquire. 18-months into the program and staring down the last few months of class I honestly can say I’m getting way more than just a piece of paper. I’ve developed a new way of thinking, I’ve developed space to be strategic, I’ve acquired new leadership and financial tools to use in my business, but most of all I’ve developed a set of strong relationships with my cohort that will go long past May 2019. As we were in Vietnam, one of my good friends and I were walking through the city one evening with nowhere to go. No plan, no real place to be. As we walked around, we stumbled upon beggars, local merchants, friendly tourists and a vibrant part of the world that I would have never given two thoughts to before my trip. Vietnam and Singapore are now a part of my story, the same way the EMBA will be a part of my story. I will continue to write my story, because after all isn’t that what life is all about?
Bluescoder I/O 
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