One of the most flattering things I have ever heard anyone say to me is “you inspire me”. What can anyone say about you that could put you in a higher regard than the fact that you inspire that person. It is an honour to be an inspiration to people. So let me tell you who inspires me. My partner does, my father, some friends of mine, some successful entrepreneurs like Richard Branson of course… but among all, the people who inspire me most sometimes is the Nuffies.
There is an old saying that goes “If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself”. I don’t necessarily agree with that. You see Ming and I made a decision years ago that we wanted to build a company that didn’t revolve around us. A company that would actually make Ming and I replaceable rather than irreplaceable. That’s why whenever we have media interviews these days, as much as I can I encourage our Nuffies to speak to represent the company, rather than have Ming or I doing it.
So if one day Ming and I disappeared, the company will continue to grow and be stronger.
I struggled with it at first. I struggled with having to let go of things for fear of something screwing up and I struggled to trust people wholeheartedly with every major task. So much that I frustrated our Country Manager Nic Chay who years ago who was meant to run things without me. I kept interfering, trying to make sure things were okay and trying to prevent mistakes. Then one day Ming told me that I need to let go completely and when Nic Chay and his team makes mistakes we just have to deal with it because we all make mistakes.
So I did. And since then our company has grown year after year without Ming and I having to be involved much. Yes we made mistakes. Many mistakes along the way but we worked together to overcome those mistakes. Eventually our company became about building strong teams of people within the company that could work independently and perform well. Sure sometimes those teams make mistakes too and has their moments of underperformance… but overall they exhibit excellence.
The wonderful thing about our company today is that these strong teams of Nuffies in our company sometimes come out with results far better than Ming and I or anyone else we know could have come up with individually. When they do, they inspire me and they remind me how great our company is. A kind of greatness not measured by our revenues or profits or the number of employees we have… but by the work they do and where we will eventually get to with that work.
This week I was inspired twice by our Nuffies:
1) The NuffnangX Video
A week before I asked a small team of Nuffies if they could come up with a video that explained NuffnangX. The video had to be short, had to seem more American than Asian (since we’re targeting the US market) and it had to explain NuffnangX very well in those 90 seconds or so. The small team of people worked on everything from the script to the storyboard and eventually the animation all in a week’s work. They came back to me only for some feedback here and there and eventually this is the video they made all by themselves.
What do you think of it?
I’ll tell you what I think. I love it!
2) ChurpOut
Today I attended Churpout 2012, an event organized by a separate team of Nuffies. Actually they’re sometimes referred to as the Churpies since they’re from the ChurpChurp part of our group.I will blog about that event in the next entry but all I can say is… WOW… I sincerely couldn’t have done it better myself.
Our company will go through good times and bad times… but with a strong team of Nuffies like what we have today (and with God’s will)… we will stand the test of time.
My colleagues inspire me. And that is what keeps me going.
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space