Christina Katsuse Student Ambassador Program

Many of you are probably extremely fond of chocolate. But then again, who wouldn’t be?

In Asia, as soon as you walk into a grocery store or convenience store, you can find Meiji products on the shelves. Meiji is responsible for producing numerous delicious snacks like Meiji chocolate, Fran, Yan Yan, Kaaru, and Hello Panda, as well as many others.

A few days ago, I had the honour of meeting Mr. Toyohiro Shimakawa, the Senior Director of Meiji Seika Singapore.

At first sight, Mr. Shimakawa comes across as a reserved man. Glasses rest on his nose as he stands tall with a slight frame. We entered a small meeting room, and the interview began.

When asked the differences between good leaders and great leaders, Mr. Shimakawa replied that he thought good leaders were competent, but great leaders are those who are competent enough to lead aforementioned good leaders. Also, great leaders are usually capable of leading large groups of people, such as a country.

When asked for advice, he immediately shot out: “Listen!” Then, he further explained. Open your ears to those around you and you will go places in life.

Foon Yew High School is composed of over 9000 students, spread across two campuses. It’s a staggering number. Each student is raised with care, and as a result, Foon Yew has gained a reputation as Malaysia’s finest secondary school.

This particular visit, I had the chance to interview Mr. Koh Chong Sim, the principal of FYHS (Foon Yew High School) and the vice-principals of FYHS.

As the interview wore on, I noticed the principals enjoyed talking about the students of FYHS. You can tell that they’re extremely proud of their students’ accomplishments. (The students are all proficient in three languages: Chinese, English, and Malay.)

My first question addressed the teaching style of FHYS. What special techniques do they use to foster their students? Apparently, FYHS finds establishing good moral fiber extremely important. Once a good foundation has been established, anything is possible.

Being headmaster of so many students is a daunting task for anyone. How did Mr. Koh manage to take care of his responsibilities? This is when pride for his students kicks in. Although it seems like a very tedious job, he does not have much to worry about because the students are proficient in taking care of themselves, and also receive heavy support from teachers.  FYHS also fosters pride for the school by holding weekly assemblies during which the medals/trophies won by students are displayed.

Mr. Koh emphasizes etiquette and being aware of your surroundings (by, for instance, being eco-friendly).

His advice: Practice time management and organization. A good foundation is imperative.

Today, we met Dr. David Yazdani of Cisco Systems. Trim and energetic, he was a very cheerful presence in our group. First, we started off with lunch in the Cisco cafeteria, Building 7. Apparently, there are 12 buildings, in which three include cafeterias, on the Cisco campus. During lunch, Mr. Yazdani gave a short history of Cisco and himself. Born in Iran, Mr. Yazdani grew up in a very well off family. Unfortunately, due to a civil war, he moved to America with only $2000. Afterwards, he joined Cisco and progressed to the position in which he is in today.

After the lunch, we took a tour of two buildings: Building 8 and Building 9. Building 8 was the visitor center building, in which there were high-tech touch screens which explained how Cisco products work and how they are implemented in real life. There was also a video/tele-conference room in which a very interesting Cisco product was used: an extremely HD video screen. The conference table was shaped in a circle cut in half, and the big screens would complete the circle and feel like the other conferencers were right in the room along with you.

Then, we toured Building 9. Building 9 has a childcare center and a workout room, in which there were even coaches to help facilitate your routine. Mr. Yazdani believes that a leader must have energy and must stay fit.

The tour ended back in Building 7 where the interviewed commenced. He believes that leaders have many qualities: ethics/values, good family, friends, and environment, passion for helping others, innovation, a vision, not being easily discouraged, energy, consistency, and heart. He especially mentioned John Chambers, the current CEO of Cisco, as a great leader.  Overall, the interview went extremely smoothly, and we were able to enjoy his company very much.