Dato’ Loy Piece

September 3, 2021

News

Dato' Loy Piece

By: Atty. Raz

Asian Family Enterprise Excellence Conference or AFEEC 2021

L ast June, we had the privilege of being addressed by Dato’ Loy Teik Ngan, the President of FBN Asia, at the Asian Family Enterprise Excellence Conference.

He spoke to us of what it takes to successfully handle transitions in a family business. Dato’ Loy was the eldest of four siblings and took over the helm upon their father’s death.

He encapsulated for us three key lessons in three maxims. The first lesson was, “Start before you are ready.” Succession was compared to a relay race wherein at some point both the runner passing on the torch and the runner receiving the torch must run together. This point is when coaching and mentorship must happen. For an efficient transition, the runner that is to receive must begin before his hand even touches the torch. The second lesson was the question, “Do you want to be King, or to be Rich?” He framed this question for us by narrating that it was originally asked of him by his Board of Advisers, to his confusion. After sufficient musing, he understood that they were presenting to him the issue of a business owner choosing to hold on to control over prioritizing performance and results. He soon learned that the more control we keep to ourselves, the less successful the succession will likely be. Letting go can sometimes be our best chance at retaining wealth.

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His third lesson was, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second-best time is today.” Successful transitions require capabilities, and these capabilities take time, usually years, to develop. He himself wondered when he took over, if he could have somehow been better prepared to step up. He counseled that even little kids can be taught important things before formal education, at the feet of their grandparents.

The three lessons were followed by principles that the Loy family has woven into their lives to give shape to their family culture. These same principles, according to Dato Loy, guided them in the creation of their Family Constitution. One such principle was the concept of stewardship by which the things done are thought of as being done for the next generation. Because of this focus, personal interest is decreased if not eliminated. Actions and decisions are made with eventual transition in mind, making these actions and decisions about love. Transition, Dato Loy stated, is really about love.

Another family principle was the celebration of the individual, as embodied in the phrase coined by Dato Loy’s brother, “Let US be ME.” By this phrase, a family member is called to ask how he or she can be himself or herself, and yet be an embodiment of the family at the same time. Under this principle, every family member is thought of as having a unique giftedness. The family custom is to develop that giftedness. Dato’ Loy opened up about how his elder daughters are now involved in different businesses within the family organization. Each one was allowed to follow her interests. His eldest is currently handling investments, because that’s what she took to. His second daughter became very interested in beauty and wellness, so the family invested in a beauty and wellness company. He observed that people tend to be more successful when they do things they are interested in, and that if nobody in their next generation were to show an interest in education, then the Loy family would have to consider diversifying.

Yet another family principle brought up was the creation of a sense of belonging. The Loy family tries to do as many things with as many members of the family as possible. It helps that they all live together, but it was emphasized that they work in order to live together. They work on their family culture and shared values. They have rules of engagement, like the absence of coercion in everything they do and the embracing of your own pace.

Dato’ Loy made clear that every transition is different for each family, but reiterated that transitions are about love. The Loy family has recognized this and its members have become willing to devote time and effort. The thought is that if it has love in it, then we must give it the time it deserves. They have for their project, an enduring family, and call out to all of us to create and to become families that think in terms of generations.

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