The Underdog Career: If I can, so can you!

From a Sales Rep to Managing Director (responsible for ASEAN) and as the Leader (Vice President) heading a large part of APAC for a Fortune 200, I am the Legal Representative entrusted to ensure work compliances with high moral integrity and most of all, to Grow the Business - Who would have thought that I can make it…..

….. I was more often the unlikely choice, the odd one out in the System Solutions space for the Industrial Automation and Digital Imaging industries in High-Tech equipment and SaaS.

I can attest that the “dots do connect” and things will pan out for good. Here’s sharing my career journey to encourage you that if I Can, So Can You!

I come from a very humble family background, working doubly hard back in the early days as a Sales Rep in order to save every penny I can for my business degree. I invested in myself with money from the severance pay when the European MNC I worked 17 years for, decided to relocate out of Singapore. The company was part of me and I dedicated countless late nights to the organisation.

I understand deeply how some of us feel when we become retrenched. Things will always get better - Please trust that as long as we Keep the Faith and Never Give Up, We Will Succeed!

The organization I was loyal to for 17 years gave me many (unlikely) career breaks, progressing me to the pinnacle as the Managing Director (ASEAN region) – I am (and always will be) grateful.

I would never have predicted when the daylights were knocked out of me at the closure of the Singapore office that it would pave the way for my next best career ever. I was headhunted to manage a large region from New Zealand to Pakistan at Danaher. Who says Underdogs cannot thrive?

I am entrenched (and continue to advocate) as the Change Champion for the highly respected Danaher Business Systems (DBS). The learnings are Simply WOW and the DBS core values shape my work ethics to today: Rooted in 4 customer-focused priorities of Quality, Delivery, Cost and Innovation, DBS emboldens People, Plan, Process and Performance to empower The Best Team Wins through Continuous Improvement (Kaizen). I Love It!

Hats off if you could spot me in the talented crowd at Danaher Leadership Conference (Hint: Lady in a white coat at right and 5th row from the front)!

What achievements can I shout about?

The most public accolade is from the hard work and collective effort to win the Best Growth (Global) with the South Asia team during the Danaher days. We won Best Global Growth (Runner Up) with the Southeast Asia team too. These achievements are especially sweet as the performance KPIs are extremely high at this Fortune 200!

Serving voluntarily in the national representative body for the print and media industries in Singapore is another honour I cherish. I was voted by the members into the Executive Committee of the Print Media Association of Singapore (PMAS) and volunteered for several years to raise the bar benefiting print professionals in Singapore. It is a privilege to be able to give-back to the industries that built my career.

Exco Members of the Print Media Association of Singapore gathering to celebrate at the Annual Gala Dinner and Dance (with me at back-centre).

Most of all, I am honoured to help in small ways to lift others out of their job difficulties and aid their career breaks. From interns to young engineers looking for advancement, Grab drivers hunting a full time return to their previous professions and the single parent seeking return to the workforce to make ends meet, it makes me very happy that I could make the meaningful difference for them!

Ultimately, it is with humility that I achieved my personal best in attaining a Masters (in Business Administration MBA) using the redundancy payout I highlighted earlier. I earned the elusive Distinction grade MBA, one of the very few in my cohort. It was the Best Gift to myself and I am super-proud of this achievement in spite of the difficulty of work traveling more than half the time while balancing a family life.

What are My Core Strengths?

My core strengths are in Market Growth, Business Management and Strategy in Asia Pacific with a high focus in Business Development, Growth Strategy, Sales and Marketing:

My Take on Winning @ eProspecting, more here.

My Take on the Best Customers are the Difficult Ones, more here.

My Take on Selling Without Feeling Sold To, more here.

My Take on Innovating Market Expansion, more here.

My Take on Winning Deals, more here.

What is My “Secret Sauce” to the Successful Career.

I shared some of My Takes of What Works for me in hindsight through previous posts and articles. The foremost attribute I would share is how to navigate Office Politics:

Office Politics: Be Fair Always & Navigate Away at all costs!

My Take on Office Politics, more here.

I encourage us all to persevere in our ambitions, even when the odds are Not in our favour. Even when we feel uncertainty and fear:

My Take on Ambition, more here.

Hard work, extra mile effort & an inquisitive mind to achieve goals still keeps me going. It has always been OK to fail as long as I pick myself up:

My Take on Getting Promoted, more here.

My Take on Career Progression, more here.

My Take on Career Marathons, more here.

My Take on Rebounding after Setbacks, more here.

What Keeps Me Going?

I enjoy Learning and Continuous Improvement. Sharing my perspectives on being a leader and What I do to bring out the best in Me:

My Take on Anti-Role Models in our Careers, more here.

My Take on Leadership, more here.

My Take on Being Boss, more here.

My Take on Performance Teams, more here.  

How do I ensure my Career Longevity?

I believe in focusing on what makes us work-happy. It is normal that work becomes draggy after some time. Test waters into new aspects of your area of expertise or even alternative avenues. It need not be an entirely new career direction.

Most focus on building the initial stages of our career. It is great to have a strong foundation. Personally, I believe the second half of our career journeys is more crucial:

My Take on Propelling your Career, more here.

It is important to exhibit our work ethics courageously, to encourage others and to demonstrate Empathy while we re-calibrate often. Be nimble and open to adjust.

Keep going and Never Give Up!

I am a growth-driven Strategic Doer with extensive APAC experience, managing businesses to double-digit growth. Know me socially, ?? ?erific

Follow me, ?? #?erific

Welcome you to connect with me, ?? Teri Teo

#GrowTheBusiness |#Strategy | #BusinessDevelopment | #SalesGrowth | #Marketing | #NeverGiveUp | APAC | #ManagingDirector | #VicePresident |

Photo credits: Danaher and PMAS