Are You Ready For Change?

On the fourth day of Chinese New Year, I received a message from Dorothy Ko, my COO based in Hong Kong. “The coronavirus situation is getting serious - we need to suspend traveling to China as soon as possible and set up quarantine protocols.”

My immediate response was that we must follow the guidelines set by the government but the bottom line was that we had to keep our office operations running smoothly as well.

Later that night, it dawned on me that China was going to be at a standstill for the next few months. As soon as I arrived in the office the following day, I called for a meeting with my core team to assess the situation. We played out many scenarios and possibilities but the answer was simple and straightforward. I told my team that I will be cancelling my monthly trip to China for the next six months.

Instead, we will shift our focus to developing our presence in the ASEAN market from our brand new office in Singapore. (Here’s the news reported on The Business Times in Singapore)

That very same day, we drew up plans for Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, and the team set off to put those plans into motion. Speed is of the essence.

With Raffles’ foundation for expansion having been laid last year (2019), I will be dividing my time and spending alternate weeks between Hong Kong and Singapore moving forward.

As a father, husband and business owner, there is always a constant struggle to find balance in work and life. It pains me having to spend so much time away from my family. However, whenever I encounter a problem, I do like I always do - keep an open mindset, improvise and draw up a plan for my next course of action.

Since I will be spending two weeks in Singapore every month, my whole family will be joining me for at least one of my trips each month. Renting a service apartment for them to enjoy lots of hawker food and for me to be able to see them after work? Not a question, consider it done.

I believe in life, one of the biggest challenges we face are the constant changing of circumstances. At times, we may be blindsided by how situations can unfold so rapidly. Take for example, China and Korea. Who would have thought that the lockdowns of both countries would be possible in this day and age?

The question we must ask ourselves - are we ready to accept change and adapt?

As the circumstances called for it, with China in lockdown, I had to make the call to put our projects on hold for the next few months. Rather than adopting a “wait-and-see” approach, I chose to stay a few steps ahead.

Since 2016, the management team at Raffles always understands the need to diversify the business’ model, in terms of business strategy and geographical expansion. With a vision to be the biggest Multi-Family Office and External Asset Manager in Asia, Raffles must deepen its presence in different parts of Asia, with Hong Kong and Singapore remaining as the cornerstone of this expansion across Asia. Fundamentally, we have to be super nimble when it comes to strategic thinking and super efficient when it comes to execution.

During my flight to Singapore, while my girls were soundly asleep, I took the time to reflect on all the events that have occurred over the last few months. I suddenly felt this overwhelming sense of pride for my team who is always pushing the limits and overcoming challenges and the euphoria of having my family be by my side.

I’m proud to say that at Raffles Family Office, we always aspire to be a few steps ahead and ready for change. The question is - are YOU ready for change?