The high Grade Point Average (GPA) would not guarantee someone to be a financial managers in a company led by Dahlan Iskan. This statement was conveyed by Dahlan Iskan while delivering a public lecture “Enhance the Spirit of Creative and Innovative Young Entrepreneurs in Facing Global Challenges” organized by Accounting Master’s Program, Faculty of Economics and Business, Gadjah Mada University on Thursday, February 15, 2018 in Kertanegara Room, FEB UGM.
In selecting a financial manager, Dahlan Iskan will pay more attention to his financial attitude rather than his financial expertise. According to Dahlan Iskan, someone who has a financial attitude will see numbers as living things, inversely proportional to a financial expert who see numbers as inanimate objects. Dahlan Iskan added, “Someone who has a financial attitude will trembled to see numbers in brackets (deficit). He will thinking out loud and act quickly to overcome it”. According to Dahlan Iskan, a financial manager must be a person who have the heart, fussy and assertive, because he is aware of the continuity of the business.
In the public lecture attended by lecturers and graduate students from various study programs in FEB UGM, Dahlan Iskan believes that the “now” generation or young people tend not to be interested in working hard. Young people today tend to prefer to work in established and promising companies. In contrast to earlier youth who love to pioneer the business and rise from failure and experience. Dahlan Iskan doubted whether the instant success achieved by “now” generation from instant experience will ensure the sustainability of a business. He believes experience and persistence is basic asset of business sustainability. Yet Dahlan Iskan suggests for “now” generation who have not been interested to start a business, to start working in an established company with a role model leader and well organized system in purpose to learn and absorb knowledge and values as assets in future business plan.
On the other hand, Dahlan Iskan also encourages the “now” generation to start a business earlier. According to him, an entrepreneur who started a business earlier has more time to raised from failing. In fact, there is no special talent to be an entrepreneur, what needed are passion and contagion. The passion of entrepreneurship is assumed by Dahlan Iskan as gold. There is a 24 carats, 22 carats, 20 carats passion and some are 0 carats. Passion is the basic foundation of entrepreneurship, because when an entrepreneur fails, passion is the main reason for getting back up. While contagion is a process that must be learned and practiced. To be infected by the ability of entrepreneurship, do much interactions with entrepreneurs and absorb valuable values in entrepreneurship.
With past experiences, Dahlan Iskan advice the general lecture participants to observe the opportunities of business. Because premature business would not successful as a business that is executed at the right time. Like the internet provider business started by Dahlan Iskan in the mid 90s where there were not many internet users at the time made the business failed. But his 24 carats passion to raise has made him move-on and re-pioneering new ventures with experience and learning from failures.