Shoulders of Titans – Meet the man behind the $360 million dollars Trump Tower Vancouver project
Date: March 12, 2015
Name: Shoulders of Titans – Meet the man behind the $360 million dollars Trump Tower Vancouver project
Successful leaders inspire other successful leaders, and leaders need to learn from other leaders in different industries. Vancouver Entrepreneurs Group presents the event “Shoulders of Titans” and invites Joo Kim Tiah, the CEO of the TA Group of Companies and CEO of the Holborn Group, to discuss his leadership journey. Leaders will learn the unique blueprint and mindsets from Joo Kim Tiah in the industry of real estate. Moreover, Joo Kim Tiah will share his views of success and impact many young entrepreneurs with his strategies and tactics. This interview event will benefit many entrepreneurs and inspire many leaders in Vancouver.
Joo Kim Tiah comes from a wealthiest family in Malaysia. With many academic credentials, including International Business from Macquarie University, and over 10 years of real estate and finance experience, Joo Kim Tiah is considered one of the youngest successful international entrepreneur in the industry. Tiah is currently developing the $360 million Trump Towner in Vancouver.
As a second generation of wealth, Tiah inspires his parents’ hard work in their financial stock business. Tiah believes his career focus will be in real estate industry.
The life of growing up in Tiah’s family
Tiah shares his parents have a strong dominant, strict and harsh personalities. In the Asian family background, parents usually never say good things about their children. Tiah emphasizes his parents do not spoil him; instead, they educate Tiah the necessary skills he needs to be a dominant entrepreneur in challenge conditions.
“In business, you have to be tough, and I thank my parents for putting me in tough conditions”
View of mentorship
Tiah shares his mentors are his parents. When he was young, he always feel alone and independent. The pressure pushed Tiah to have the desire to be different. The energy pushed him to find his own identity.
Tiah believes listen is important. Listening is equivalent to learning, and leaders need to have stubborn conviction to become successful. When leaders do not blame themselves for the result, they will have the conviction about their products they want to sell. If leaders do not have conviction, they will not have the way to convict others about them.
Response for negative people
When leaders are surrounded by negative people, Tiah suggests leaders to thank them. In Tiah’s experience, there were many unsupported people who have doubt in his career. Instead of agreeing with them, Tiah use time to provide them wrong. The Trump Tower will complete in 2017 and it will accommodate with famous Asian Hong Kong restaurant, brand new lounge, and Las Vegas night club. Moreover, the tower will be a part of Tiah’s legend.
Tiah’s management style
Before the Trump Tower, Tiah worked on many small projects in real estate industry. Tiah’s father send him to work in Bank’s research department to improve his poor manner. In his career in the research department, it taught him the ability to analyze and the habit of reading. While working in the low position, Tiah was able to see the view of the world’s environment. Tiah experienced unfair treatments from corporate culture, such as inefficient employees got promotion instead of good working employees.
“I will ensure my company will not have this nonsense”
Tiah indicates his management style is a combination of Asian traditional and oversea cultures. his management style has the essence of Asian empire and general structure with loyalty concept and collective ways of western ownership. Tiah believes the best management style is the balance of both . His intention is to help his employees to achieve their career goals, but he also wants his employees to know he is the boss. Sometimes leaders need to be strong in their vulnerable situations. Leaders need to let their employees know they are in control.
Joo Kim Tiah’s typical living life
Tiah shares his typical living life is working 12 hours on weekday and 4-6 hours total on weekend. There is no right or wrong ways to live as an entrepreneur; in fact, the important factor is if it is effective or not. Tiah believes there are only a limit years in life can catch success and these coming years are his golden opportunity. This is the year to work hard.
Tiah believes if leaders want success, they need to sacrifice their time. Leaders need to accumulate wisdom when they are young to be prepared for future success. Moreover, leaders cannot delicate other people’s decisions before they can do it on their own.
“You cannot be a general before you fight in the battle”
Experience in Trump Tower
To ensure Trump Tower is a successful project, Tiah needs to master everything related to hotel, fitness, restaurant, and clubs. Tiah fulfills his clear vision by understanding what he is capable in this project and identify the missing pieces to measure success. by understanding all the parts that makes up the project, he needs to find people who can help him execute his vision.
Tiah has his certain way to execute his vision. He emphasizes that because if the project fails, no one can blame but himself. Every leader needs to understand that their decisions follow their hearts. Therefore, Tiah suggests leaders to not rely on experts; instead, leaders should provide them the directions to execute.
The decision of using the brand of Trump
Tiah looks at Vancouver to be more left than right, and Trump is more right than left. Tiah wants a brand with good real estate history trend. In addition, he wants a brand that brings the centre of attention and wants people to look at the details of the project.
While negotiating with other brands, Tiah experiences many CEOs never return his offer because due to the length of the contract, they already left the position. Companies are run by executives and it is important to ensure the business relationship sustains in long-term perspective. Therefore, Tiah chooses Trump because he knows he will be around for over 20 years. Tiah suggests leaders to know the life and expectation before any negotiation.
Tiah believes leaders need to be visionary. Leaders need to identify the gap in the market and crystallize and package it to convince the audience. Leaders need to have the ability to explore the reason of why others are successful and why the world is changing.
The second skill is to be fair, honest, integrity and tough. With one bad experience, the life of entrepreneur will be over.
Tiah chooses Vancouver because their parents enjoy skiing in Vancouver when they were here. Tiah’s family has many other investments in Vancouver and they realize the environment is safer than other cities.
Why entrepreneurs fail?
People give up easily and success does not come overnight. Tiah believes leaders need to be the right place, right time and the right people. If leaders do not reinforce the necessary right habits at young age, it will be hard for them to be successful. Leaders need to be humble because no one wants to work with ego. When leaders get older, they will be hard to change. Therefore, it is important to have the right values at young.
Tiah suggests leaders to take business as a part of their lives. Leaders who have businesses must be obsessed with business in their lives. Business needs focus and it takes a long time to master. Tiah suggests leaders to do things people never expect to achieve. They need to spend time to achieve the goals that will achieve their visions.
Many people think they have a lot time to waste; instead, they need to delicate and commit their lives to be successful. The decision they make will make the difference. Sometimes people will feel lonely, but they need to make their lives count.
“People do not see the sacrifice, but sacrifice will be the difference”
Definition of success
Tiah wants to impact people in a positive way. It is important to reach to people who will follow the right leader. People will support leaders who provide positive impact; therefore, successful leaders need to be in a position that can help people. Moreover, leaders, who are on their way to be successful entrepreneurs, need to be recognized in community. Success comes from leaders who are willing to reach to others in different ways.
Questions and answers from audience
The experience with the Trump makes Tiah to raise his team’s momentum. After the negotiation, He knows Trump will be on his side 100%. This makes him proud.
“People should focus on present, and present will be future. I do not worry about future because I only focus on present”
The two superpower Tiah wants are reading people’s mind and healing people.
The choice of using the mix management style is because he realizes the world is going towards that. Tiah shares his hardest experience is during 2009, he needs to deal 4 people resign and 6 people suing on his first day of work in the company. The solution is to give everything to God. He has faith that by doing the best he can, God will save him. Therefore, he prays every morning.
Tiah recommends young entrepreneurs to develop the winning habit. It is important to receive small achievements when they are young because excellence comes from young. There are moments in life leaders doubt about themselves. Tiah suggests leaders to believe they are always the winner. They need to build confidence and create mentality at their best.
People have hard time to stay focus in this generation. Tiah does not multitasking; in fact, he wants to concentrate 100% on one task and nothing else on his mind.
Tiah believes charity work comes later in life. Young people should not focus everything on charity. Tiah will still provide contribution to charity and help others on their way to success.
Tiah is being caution with the project, which slow him down. If there is anything Tiah wants to change, he wants to speed up the process of the Trump Tower development. Tiah does not think about “what if” scenarios. Tiah believes there is always people jealous of second generation of wealth. From young age, people judge people without knowing them and force other people to be like them. Instead of being the clone, he recommends young leaders to write their own stories and be comfortable of who they really are.