As social media culture becomes increasingly filled with the tendency to punish and judge someone based on episodes of failure, the Founder of RichWorks Consulting Group (RCG) and Entrepreneur Mentor, Datuk Wira Dr Azizan Osman, has a strong message to them, especially to detractors in the socmed circuit.
He said, what is more concerning today is the existence of a culture that is too quick to judge when a company faces challenges. "Many do not know what happens behind the scenes, the pressure borne by the company owners, the difficult decisions that have to be made, and the sacrifices made to sustain the business and the livelihoods of many employees."
"Many only see when a company falls, but they do not see how long the company was built, how many failures were endured before success, how many employees depend on the company, and how many family members sacrificed together throughout that journey," he said.
More than 200 entrepreneurs are now participating in the Inner Circle Meeting (ICM) Johor, which focuses on leadership transformation, business system building, growth strategies, and solving the real issues faced by their respective companies so that they are better prepared to face changes in the economic and industrial landscape.
Not only that, the author of 14 international books alongside the father of modern marketing, Philip Kotler, and the founder of the Indonesian professional services firm, PenMCorp (MarkPlus), in marketing consulting, research, and training, Hermawan Kartajaya, also shared the latest insights that can help entrepreneurs at this time.
He added that when a company faces problems, the impact is not only on the owner but also involves employees, suppliers, customers, and families who depend on the continuity of the business. Therefore, every comment or perception spread without facts also affects many innocent parties.
"Throughout nearly two decades of guiding the entrepreneurial community, I have never seen a company fail due to just one factor because the performance of a business is influenced by a combination of various things including economic changes, cash flow, market competition, technology, organisational leadership, execution discipline, and the decisions made by the drivers of the company itself," he said.
"Many look for someone to blame when a company fails, whereas the more important question is what has changed in the market, what decisions have been made by the company, and how ready the 'drivers' of the company are to change when the world around them changes," he explained.
He added that a mentor never has the power to guarantee that an entrepreneur will succeed for a lifetime because the business world is always changing. However, the role of a mentor is to build thinking skills, leadership, discipline, strategy, and resilience so that an entrepreneur can rise when tested.
"That's why RichWorks always emphasises that the transformation of a company starts with the transformation of the driver because when leaders change in terms of mindset, discipline, leadership, and decision-making courage, the organization will also begin to change.
"The real challenge for SMEs today is not just the economy, but when the drivers of the company stop learning while customers change, technology changes, and the market changes every day," he said.
He said that society also needs to look at the journey of entrepreneurs as a whole and not just choose one story that fits a certain narrative because, over nearly two decades, RichWorks has guided the entrepreneurial community, and there are thousands of stories that bring different lessons.
"Among the examples I have personally witnessed is the journey of the Founder of Momentum Iyziq, Najib Asaddok, who went through a major downfall before rising again and recording millions of ringgit in sales per month, while the education entrepreneur PTTI, Miss Fana (Siti Farhana Abu Osman), proved that when the driver continues to grow, the organization can also grow, building one of the most successful tuition education empires in the country."
"Additionally, Dr. Kartika Wati Mohamed also went through a phase where she almost closed her company before successfully transforming Eskayvie into one of the well-known local health brands," he emphasised.
Azizan said that all three stories have different plots, but one thing they have in common is that they choose to keep learning, accept criticism, change strategies, and not stop taking action even when facing great challenges.
In the same vein, RCG emphasised that it respects the right of every individual to express views and criticisms responsibly, but this freedom should not be used as an excuse to spread false information, make baseless accusations, or publish content that can mislead the public and damage the reputation of individuals and organisations.
"Staying silent does not mean we are not paying attention because we are always monitoring every comment, post, video, and allegation involving RichWorks, Datuk Wira Dr. Azizan Osman and our community of entrepreneurs.
"If any party intentionally spreads defamatory or false statements that violate the law, we will take appropriate action through legal channels to protect the rights and reputation of the organization."
"We believe that Malaysian society can become a more mature community by choosing to pray for, support, and learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs who are being tested because history has shown that almost every great company in the world has gone through the toughest times, but what sets them apart is the courage to rise again, not the fact that they have fallen," he explained.
RichWorks is a parent organisation committed to empowering entrepreneurs, business owners, and organisations in Malaysia and ASEAN through a comprehensive entrepreneurship development ecosystem. Founded by Datuk Wira Dr. Azizan Osman, also acts as guidance for entrepreneurs to achieve sustainable, measurable, and exponential growth. RichWorks, through its subsidiaries - Richworks Consulting Group and Richworks Corporate Training, plays its respective roles in supporting the development of a business.
