Ocean in the Pond: How the Masters Can Teach You About Sailing Your Business out of the Sea from the Lake and to the Ocean

By CFO Stan and Paul CL Chan

After consulting, coaching and training thousands of the business community’s greatest financial minds, Paul CL Chan & CFO Stan return to the NEW NORMAL with OCEAN mentality, taking you on a voyage to change your life and accelerate your business journey to the next level. No matter your size of business, number of hired people, or when you just a startup, this book will provide the game plan to help you achieve your business and life goals more quickly than you ever thought possible.
Uniqueness of this book presented in simple language and easy technique that work miracle for you
• How to put together an actionable plan that can deliver true source of wealth
• How a few simple steps can add value to your business and solve your dimension of life by discovering why oftentimes you get the opposite of what you learned from guru and got no result in business
• Business strategies from MNC on how to decode the Sea of business opportunities
• The four vital mentality that most of the world’s business leader minds utilise so that you can leverage people’s talent to financial success.
• Master the mind-set of ocean wealth and experience joyfulness you deserve today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Feb 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781543762983

CFO Stan

Paul is a master trainer, corporate coach and banking subject matter expert. Stan is a master coach, certified trainer & chartered accountant. Both of them provide their training and consulting services independently for over decades. Their educational background in accountancy and banking has given them a broad base from which to approach business leadership coaching. They especially enjoy sharing entrepreneurship stories how to lead their team with courage and live a multidimensional life.

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Copyright © 2021 by CFO Stan, Paul CL Chan.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Pond

Lake

Sea

Ocean

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Appendix I

Appendix II

About The Authors

FOREWORD

Paul and Stan are helping you on the winning game plan; share this book and coach businesspeople to stop underperformance.

When Paul asked me to write the foreword for the book Ocean in the Pond, I was at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort, Redang Island, Terengganu, owned by my company, Berjaya Corporation Berhad. We met by chance, or perhaps fate, at the beachfront of the resort, and our conversation was in Hokkien, one of the local Chinese dialects. I was pleased for several reasons. Most of all, I thought Paul was a nice and sincere man, and he introduced himself as a corporate trainer for the banking industry in the area of credit lending and financial analysis, coupled with some management courses. That brought back memories of my young days in the banking industry.

As I came from a poor family, I could not afford to further my studies, so I took a job as a clerk with United Malayan Banking Corporation (UMBC) in Kuala Lumpur in early 1970, immediately after completing my fifth form. I stayed at UMBC for one year and left in 1971 to join AIA full-time to sell life insurance. I became relatively successful as a life insurance agent, and with my earnings I also started several small businesses, including car dealerships and import of re-con cars and second- hand machinery from Japan.

I asked myself why this is a book of ocean in a pond mentality? Why a full-scale discussion of business in the pond to the lake, out to the sea, and successful in the ocean? Millions of motivational and inspirational books are published every year. Why is this book is so meaningful and valuable to read and for anyone to imitate some of its real success life journey to learn from the pond, lake to sea, and to the ocean?

Permit me to share with you my short story as a foreword; it coincidentally relates to this entrepreneurial book for individuals and business owners. That’s how my intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship journey began, and it has never stopped, even until today. One day in 1973 September, at the age of twenty-one, I came across an issue of Time magazine in a clinic while accompanying my life insurance client for a medical check-up. The title was bold and big: The Burger That Conquered the World—the McDonald’s burgers, and the article struck a chord with me. I started dreaming of opening a McDonald’s franchise in Malaysia. I took massive action and wrote several letters to McDonald’s Corporation asking for a franchise for Malaysia. McDonald’s replied immediately to reject my application. I did not give up but continued to write to McDonald’s repeatedly over the next seven years.

Eventually, in 1980, I received a reply from McDonald’s, inviting me to the inauguration of their first restaurant in Singapore, where I was greatly commended by the McDonald’s top management for my perseverance. I was later invited to visit the McDonald’s head office in Chicago, where I finally clinched the deal and acquired the McDonald’s Malaysian franchise with a 51 per cent stake for RM250,000.00. On 29 April 1982, I opened my first McDonald’s outlet at Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. It was a big success from the very beginning, giving me my first taste of great wealth. I soon began to open more outlets. I would later also secure and introduce several other international food and beverage franchises to the country, some of the more visible ones being Starbucks Coffee, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and Kenny Rogers Roasters. My early experience with McDonald’s has been my guiding mantra in business and entrepreneurship—that one must persevere and never give up in order to succeed, no matter the challenges and pitfalls that one will invariably face along the way.

In 1984, at the age of thirty-two, with my hard-earned savings and bank borrowings, I managed to acquire a controlling stake in Berjaya Industrial Berhad from its Australian owners. Its successor today, Berjaya Corporation Berhad, is one of Malaysia’s largest conglomerates with diversified businesses in food and beverage, gaming (Sports Toto, which I privatized from the Malaysian government in 1985), hotels, resorts, golf clubs and tourism, property development, financial services, IT and data analytics, media and education, environmental and waste treatment.

Therefore, individuals and business owners, the lessons learned from my life story and from this book, Ocean in a Pond, are quite similar in nature: have dreams and dream big, never being hesitant or fearful to take action on what you want to be, and the terms perseverance and never give up will carry you to realize your dreams. Hard work, commitment, being responsible for your actions, taking massive action, and being ethical in your dealings with honesty and integrity will achieve you your life’s goals. I started in the pond, moved on to the lake, and landed in the sea—and now I think like an ocean, with so many opportunities out there, and it’s been a challenging journey until today. The thinking process was a captivated thought, and it’s with me ever since. The more I observed, the more people I talked with, the deeper I dug into what was really behind success, the clearer the answer. There is a miracle in the thinking of the ocean. If the ocean mentality can accomplish so much, why doesn’t everyone think that way? I’ve been asked that question many times. Here, I believe, is the answer: Every entrepreneur is an effect of the thinking around us. And much of this thinking starts with a puddle which is the pond, but we must think of the ocean in the long run.

That message is getting through to all of us with this book with CFO Stan. Paul and Stan are on a mission to help the average entrepreneur and intrapreneur on the winning game plan, preach the message of the ocean mentality, and coach businesspeople to stop underperformance. In their journey, they have trained businesspeople to climb to the next level and embrace the four-water nature mentality. Think about it this way: When one is blessed with great wealth beyond what is needed, there is a corresponding moral and social responsibility to put the money to good use. For this reason, I have continued my philanthropic work through my two vehicles: The Better Malaysia Foundation and the Berjaya Cares Foundation, as well as through the Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation for the past several years to help the less fortunate and underprivileged through monetary donations and other means of material support.

Let me tell you, Paul and Stan are of the ocean nature and mentality! After spending just a few minutes browsing through their book and knowing of their future plans, I completely understood how they are blessed with a great mindset. There are important words to spread to readers to be the best version of yourself in your own career as individuals and as business owners.

The last chapter of this book is dedicated to the memory of the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic has upended the daily lives of people around the world. The economic impact of the virus has led to new categorizations of essential workers, accepting a new normal, a large-scale move to working remotely and skyrocketing unemployment that is expected to continue increasing. Effective bosses will need to learn new ways to connect with their employees and support them to grow and succeed in this new normal environment.

In building anything that works, you need tools. Many people, in their attempt to build a successful life, forget that there are tools to help them. You have, then, the four basic mindset shifts needed to realize real profit from this book: why the ocean mentality in the pond, the lake, and the sea for you to select a tool to help you realize those desires and dreams.

Think ocean and you’ll live in the ocean. You’ll live in an ocean of happiness. You’ll live in an ocean of accomplishment, an ocean of income, ocean of friends, ocean of respect. Enough for the affirmation.

Start now, right now, to discover how to make your thinking in the ocean. Start out with this great philosophical thought: Life is a game; play it. Life is a challenge; meet it. Life is an opportunity, capture it.

I personally wish you all good luck and success in your journey to achieve financial independence. May God Almighty bless you on your journey with great success.

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun, PSM, SSMT, SJMT, SIMP,

Executive Chairman of Berjaya Corporation Berhad

PREFACE

There’re plenty of different perceptions and visions to a person in picturing life as a whole. Different individuals may beg to differ and have other ideas, and in this situation, there aren’t any rights or wrongs. There’s a similarity of our life stages compared with the four natural resources of water: pond, sea, lake, and ocean.

Life, as compared to the size of these four water resources, is comparable as an imaginary life boundary of a business or an individual to explore. The imaginary boundary is usually a comfort zone which is meant to be explored and expanded from the challenges to be overcome.

Pond mentality is usually the beginning before it expands to lake mentality. There is usually a small gap for lake mentality to jump into the sea mentality due to the need to adapt to plenty of changes. Ocean mentality is similar to the sea mentality, with rather minor changes to adapt. It’s not necessary for one mentality in each stages of a business growing from small to big, because all business have similar characteristics and it’s up to the human mind choose when to apply pond, lake, sea or ocean mentality. Those businesses or individuals who had explored the sea and ocean mentality could return to the pond or lake mentality again with more experiences, knowledge, and skills.

There are plenty of aspects to this which can be explored in each type of business and individual mentality to expand their business or self-development. For each mentality, whether it’s a business or individual, plan the goals to deliver, whether it’s of short- or long-term ones and monitor the progress as you implement them. As time passes, review your goals to replace those that are completed with new ones or improvise those which are still in progress to complete.

This is a book written with passion, personality, and chunk down its languages are chunk down details to details. If you are a serious business builder, you will enjoy the fruitful joyride that Paul and Stan take you through.

A must-read for those who are looking for ideas, road maps, and powerful step-by-step questionnaires. Look no further—it’s all found here in this book.

Super coach Joe Tan

Founder and owner, Super Coaching Incorporation (Singapore)

The materials in this book are using the ecosystem to dictate the transformation of anyone’s life to the next level. This new level you wanted represents a powerful metaphor quantum leap forward in the real world. You will learn the powerful theories of behaviour science, level of competence and financial expert’s experience that are being put into a down-to-earth practicality. It is a total brand new approach to transform individuals and to sustain businesses success. Read it, take massive action and be in the peak state.

Sebastien Leblond NLP Master Trainer by ABNLP ICF Certified Coach,

Professional Business Coach Alliance (PBCA)

This book is fantastic, unique, and timely in preparing entrepreneurs at whatever stage in their business life cycle by having the right mindset as per its catchy title, Ocean in the Pond Mentality. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in new norms in the way of doing business or even lifestyle by adjusting oneself to the ever-changing ocean tide. Nothing can stop the water in the pond from moving towards the ocean; likewise, there is always light at the end of the tunnel with the right frame of mentality upon reading this book.

Abdul Rahman Mohd Yusoff Cpif, MIM-CPT, head of Islamic Product and Business Development of an Islamic Bank Deputy President, Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professional (CIIF)

Pond, Lake, Sea, Ocean Mentality is a practical handbook and guide for the entire spectrum of business-minded individuals—from the budding entrepreneurs to business owners cutting across industries and business ecosystems.

The writers have applied their combined life experiences in the world of commerce from their days as young apprentices. To put it in a simple perspective, the evolution of enterprises are akin to water flowing from one water body to another and the necessity to adapt and assimilate (flow) to sustain life in the water body. When water stops flowing, so will all life that it sustains.

Philip Phang

Professional accountant and entrepreneur, Aviation and Travel Services Industry

Water surrounds our lives, and there is no substitute to it. It has the ability to be in three forms: steam, liquid, and ice. This book is interesting and readable, with particular emphasis on describing our human minds. The authors describe our mental capabilities as a metaphor of water element in a pond, lake, sea, or ocean. It is only logical for us to tap these realms of infinite water in our daily affairs to overcome problems, build networks, and achieve success. The uniqueness of this book is enhanced by the ability of both authors to capture the essence of water element to describe our mentality that could be a pond, lake, sea, or ocean, to provide a rational and sensible guidance how we should live our lives to achieve our dreams. This book is eminently suitable for readers from all walks of life, specifically students, entrepreneurs, managers, and professionals.

Associate Professor Dr Thi Lip Sam

School of Business Management

College of Business

Universiti Utara Malaysia

It is a privilege for me to write a few words of acknowledgement to all of you picking up this little gem of a book, Ocean in a Pond. I find this such a practical read, concise and full of valuable insights from the anecdotes and precious life experiences which we can learn from one another as we tread intrepidly with all the uncertainty and volatility of COVID-19, the political instability, the socio-economic changes, and global upheavals.

There are no instant answers to any of the problems and challenges we face, but there are solutions and options available and success is waiting there for us, as long as we are willing to unlearn and relearn and don’t give up.

Thanks to Paul and Stan for reminding us about life’s rich and diverse opportunities that are out there. Prepare to be refreshed!

Joan Lim-Choong

CEO, Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital, Penang

BEcons, UUM

PGDip Health Services and Hospital Management, South Bank Uni, London

Grad certificate in leadership and culture, Australian Catholic Uni, Sydney

感言

天下没有难做的生意,我们经常都在谈生意难做，及如何改变一个人的思维模式与格局。作为一个企业人，如果思维模式不夠大，企业格局也就不会大；如果思维模式跟不上环圻的变化，企业格局也就受到了局限而不能成長。拥有正确思维模式，谋事不对，忽略处境，绝对弄巧反拙。作者描述瀛的心态让我万分感触企业人是如何能耐地活过池塘,勇敢游入深湖，探索波涛汹涌的沧海。

Paul 是一个专业的企业培训师，Stan 是一个专业的会计师兼企业教练。他们把这些年积累的经验总结，写入了这本书。这是他们 的心血结晶，如果想要改变思维的模式和企业的格局，打开这扇大门的钥匙尽在此书中！

谨此祝贺读者成功实用此书奥秘！

[Translation] Testimonial

It is easy for anyone to do business anywhere, though we