RSOG Leadership in Action
Leading in a Disruptive World
with
Datuk Yasmin Mahmood
When | : | 18 April 2018 |
Where | : | Razak School of Government |
Speaker | : | Datuk Yasmin Mahmood |
Framework of the Session
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way”. Such a statement may sound simple yet remains a tall order for many leaders, especially when the area to be led is subject to rapid and robust changes. Malaysia’s large-scale foray into digital technology can be traced as early as 1996 with the formation of Multimedia Development Corporation and the announcement of MSC Malaysia. From the numerous e’s, often led by the government, the digital ecosystem has changed tremendously and at times unexpectedly. As the CEO of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the challenges faced by Datuk Yasmin Mahmood is simply enormous. How was she able to see the silver lining, if any, in an extremely dynamic environment? What story did she tell to bring everyone in the group on board? These are some of the potential focus areas that Datuk Yasmin Mahmood will share in this session.
Key Takeaways from the Session
Before people like Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page made the headlines, fortune has always been linked with age, experience, inheritance, and to some extent, connections. The hyperconnected world seems to have opened a different set of opportunities to the masses. In every five seconds, there are 4.1 billion people online who collectively send millions of emails and social media messages, made hundreds over thousands of searches, and downloaded thousands of applications.
Such hyper-connectivity also witnessed “nations” living virtually. Facebook, for instance, has around 2 billion active users, far bigger than the world’s most populous country, China. WhatsApp’s active users are about the same size of India. Other fast growing virtual nations include WeChat, Tencent QQ, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
The speed and scale of growth for the organisations riding on this hyper-connectivity seems to be phenomenal. For instance, it took about 60 years for Warner Music Group to have US$3.6 billion revenue and presence in 50 countries. Spotify took only 10 years to reach the US$3 billion revenue mark with presence in 65 countries.
Reflecting on the said realities and opportunities, Malaysia outlined four initiatives, namely driving investment, building local technology champions, catalysing digital innovation ecosystems, and propagating digital inclusivity to ensure that the country is in touch with the prevailing environment.
Apart from creating high value jobs, the said initiatives have helped the locals in expanding their global footprint, especially in the animation industry. Upin Ipin, Ejen Ali, and Didi & Friends are some of the more popular examples. Didi & Friends, for example, has 414 million views on YouTube since it launched in May 2014.
Going forward, how does one future proof the young talents and ensure no one is left behind? It is estimated that 65% of children in schools today will end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist. In foresight, the school children in Malaysia are fast exposed to the relevant skills such as coding and logical thinking. Inclusivity wise, programmes such as eRezeki and eUsahawan were created to bridge the underprivileged to digital income opportunities generally through crowdsourcing.
Based on the foregoing, the change that the world sees today is real and are likely to continue at a much faster rate. Unlike in the previous era, the disruptions triggered by these waves of change come from the non-establishments who appear to be driven by passion, extraordinary commitment, and forward-looking mindset. It is only natural for leaders to respond in a similar zeal which goes beyond the conventional playbook and blueprint. Modern day genius, Stephen Hawking could be right when he pointed out that “intelligence is the ability to adapt to change”.
Key Issues Raised
- Disruptions will always come to interrupt human routine and comfort zone. It is imperative for leaders to ensure their talent can respond; often through reskilling.
- Preparing talent, regulatory framework that supports innovation, culture of accepting failure, and making data work are some of the fundamental changes that emerging countries like Malaysia needs to do to “future-proof” itself.
- As far as education is concerned, it is crucial to ensure that the teachers are agile in responding to changes. Universities can partner with schools to train the teachers.
- Referring to technology centres and research parks, Bangalore is a tech hub while Silicon Valley is about ideas and mindset.
- Creating enterprises that are socially and environmentally conscious is equally important to the entire ecosystem in future-proofing the country.
About the Guest Speaker
Datuk Yasmin Mahmood was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), effective 15 September 2014. She was appointed to the Board on 19 January 2015. Her career prior to joining MDEC includes leadership positions such as Executive Director of YTL e-Solutions Bhd., Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Regional Manager of Dell Asia Pacific and General Manager of HP Sales Malaysia.
Contact
To get more information on this event, you can contact us via email at programmes@rsog.com.my