AIRASIA FOUNDER LIKES WORKERS TO SPEAK UP

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WSJA(5/29) AIRASIA FOUNDER LIKES WORKERS TO SPEAK UP

(From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA)

Malaysian Tony Fernandes founded AirAsia, Asia's first
low-cost carrier, in 2001 and expanded the company by
setting up joint-venture airlines in Thailand and
Indonesia. Mr. Fernandes, 42 years old, graduated from
the University of London in 1987 with a finance degree
and in 1992 moved back to Malaysia, where he became
managing director of Warner Music Malaysia, and later,
vice-president of Warner's Southeast Asian operations.
He quit in 2001 to start AirAsia.

One of Malaysia's most outspoken business executives,
Mr. Fernandes not only has strong ideas on the way
airlines should be run, but also how Southeast Asia's
top-down corporate culture should change. He spoke to
reporter Cris Prystay about his style.

WSJ: What was your first job and what did you learn
from it?

Mr. Fernandes: My first job was a waiter in London at
the Cavendish Hotel. I was 17. I learned that working
was hard and you had to be professional, even as a
waiter. You had other colleagues. If my performance
was poor, it let down the whole team.

My first [career] job was as an accountant at an
auditor in London. It was mind-blowingly boring. I was
a junior auditor and was photocopying and adding up
rows of columns. The big lesson there: make sure you
go into a job that you enjoy. Otherwise, you don't
give any value to your employer, and you certainly
don't add any value to your own mind.

WSJ: Who gave you the best business advice?

Mr. Fernandes: It was probably Stephen Shrimpton (the
former chief executive officer of Warner Music
International) at Warner. I was a man in a rush. I was
28 when I became the managing director of Warner Music
Malaysia, and I wanted to be the regional MD. I wanted
to take over the world.

One night, Steve talked to me outside the Sheraton
Hotel in Hong Kong for three hours. He told me there's
no need to rush and that it's about developing my own
personality and making sure I'm ready for the next
job. I see that now: No matter how bright someone is
at 25, there's nothing like experience. He slowed me
down, and made me understand that you need to take
time -- to understand the business better, to
understand your people better.

WSJ: What's the one thing you wish every new hire
knew?

Mr. Fernandes: Humility -- and knowing what the real
world is like. The new generation is coming in pretty
soft. A lot of these young guys haven't lived through
a recession. There are plenty of jobs out there and
they think, "I can always walk into another job." The
hunger and determination to do their best is sometimes
not there.

WSJ: Is there a difference between the management
culture in Asia and the West?

Mr. Fernandes: The management culture here is very
top-down. There's less creativity and fewer people who
are willing to speak out. They're more implementers
than doers. There's less freedom of speech, and that
impacts the business world. Even when they know things
are not right, they won't speak out. They just do what
they're told to do.

WSJ: What's the biggest management challenge you face?


Mr. Fernandes: To get people to think. At AirAsia, we
want 4,000 brains working for us. My biggest challenge
is to get people to talk, to express themselves, to
get people to challenge me and say "Tony, you're
talking rubbish." That's what I want, not people who
say "Yes, sir." The senior management doesn't have all
the answers. I want the guy on the ramp to have the
confidence to tell me what's wrong.

WSJ: What are you doing to clear that hurdle?

Mr. Fernandes: We have no offices. We dress down. You
wear a suit, and you put distance between you and your
staff. We're on a first-name basis. I go around the
office, around the check-in desks, the planes
constantly, talking to people. Fifty percent of my job
is managing people in the company. You get people to
open up to you by just asking them to do it, and then
responding to them. You don't send a memo, or do some
"speak up" incentive program. It's got to be from the
heart.

WSJ: What was the most satisfying decision you've made
as a manager?

Mr. Fernandes: Once a month, I carry bags with the
ramp boys, or I'm cabin crew, or at the check-in. I do
this to get close to the operation. I also want to
know my people. When I first started this, I met all
these bright kids at the check-in or carrying bags. We
were starting this cadet pilot program, and I said,
"Let's open it up to anyone. Let some of these kids
apply." They have the brains, but they just didn't
have the money to get the education. Out of the first
batch of 19 cadets, 11 came from within the company.
Some of these boys got the highest marks ever in the
flying academy. There was one kid who joined us to
carry bags, and 18 months later he was a First Officer
of a 737. Can you imagine what that does for the
motivation in the company? Everyone talks about
developing human capital, but we did it.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 28, 2006 17:30 ET (21:30 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.