U70 still 'practice sales'

Born in 1956 in Nghe An, Mr. Truong Gia Binh is known as the "soul" and "captain" of FPT, leading this technology corporation from zero to a powerful 4 billion USD empire.

Speaking at the meeting on October 11 between the Government Standing Committee and business representatives on the occasion of Vietnam Entrepreneurs' Day, Mr. Truong Gia Binh shared three joys: The first joy was being invited by the Prime Minister to meet on the occasion of Vietnam Entrepreneurs' Day.

The second joy is the joy of being an entrepreneur. We live a happy life, with hardships and difficulties, but we are very happy because we have overcome difficulties to create social and material wealth, take care of our families, take care of our employees, pay taxes to the State, and do many good things for society.

The third joy is both fun and having to think and make an effort. Never before has a Vietnamese enterprise had the opportunity to work with two world superpowers, both the US and China.

"If you understand this joy and exploit this joy, you will be even more successful," said Mr. Binh.

Through this sharing, it can be understood that "the joy of being an entrepreneur" has seeped into Mr. Truong Gia Binh's blood, motivating the Chairman at the age of U70 to still be a good salesman.

It was this “strange” move of Mr. Binh that caught the public’s attention. People continuously “searched” for videos of him sharing his sales philosophy, to absorb useful advice, or simply to see how he did business to become as successful as he is today.

“Actually, my hardest job is selling. Right now, I still have to sell,” Mr. Binh shared in a video.

He told about his flight to Japan in 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami occurred in Japan. Although his staff and family tried to stop him, Mr. Truong Gia Binh still decided to fly to Tokyo.

“ The secretary said the radiation level had increased to 200 times, I couldn’t go, but I still decided to go. Going home was even worse because my wife wouldn’t let me. I told my wife that as a general, I would stand at the forefront of the storm, you couldn’t stop me because that was me. If you oppose me, it means you don’t accept me as you,” Mr. Binh emotionally recalled.

He also talked about flying abroad to meet a client company, sitting for hours consulting and convincing them, then immediately taking the train to meet another company.

FPT Chairman said he is not afraid to please customers, sometimes having to lower himself. He even wondered when he saw that his sales work was arranged less.

“ I complained to my staff, why did you have 5 working sessions in a day before, but now you only have 3? They told me to keep you healthy, but I told you that you don’t need to, you want to continue working. Now that FPT is manufacturing chips, I may have to meet all the major chip manufacturing companies in the world to pitch and convince them to cooperate, ” said Mr. Binh.

After the two stories above, the Chairman of FPT discussed the role of setting an example and taking the lead of business leaders, from business, culture to innovation in thinking: “To be a general, one must stand at the forefront of the waves and winds. To be a leader, one must be ready to throw oneself in the air and make sacrifices so that employees can follow,” said Mr. Truong Gia Binh.

In an interview, Mr. Truong Gia Binh recounted that in the early 1970s, he was one of 100 students from the entire North who were carefully selected by the Military Technical University (now the Military Technical Academy), equipped with knowledge, trained in foreign languages ​​in the country for a year, and then sent to the Soviet Union to study specialized knowledge.

“The country is still facing difficulties, we are still very young but have been trained very well. The country has given us great benefits, we have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear.

Associate Professor Dang Quoc Bao, former Head of the Central Science and Education Committee, then Principal and Political Commissar of the Military Technical University, often told us: "After school, you have the task of accelerating the country's economy," the Chairman of FPT recalled.

At that time, he did not fully understand what his teacher meant, but when he grew up, Mr. Binh understood that it was also his teacher's way of teaching about love and responsibility for the Fatherland. The teachings about the aspiration to revive the country have permeated until now.

Mr. Binh calculated, 15 years of research, 35 years of business, added up to more than half a lifetime. From a scientist turning to business, 35 years ago holding a license to establish a company but without a single penny of capital, no assets... just "running" and fumbling to find the way.

“We have prepared resources for 35 years and now we are starting to do the best things in the world. If in the past, FPT always had to proactively seek partners and customers, now many large customers and partners proactively seek us out.

We are filled with hope that the day of national prosperity is approaching.

For 35 years, my teammates and I have never forgotten the aspiration of "national prosperity". We are very grateful to those who sowed the aspiration of a strong country in the hearts of the country's excellent students at that time", the Chairman of FPT confided.

Even now, as a successful businessman, leading one of the largest corporations in the country, Mr. Binh still does not forget to mention the country.

“As a businessman, I would like to sincerely thank the Party, Government, National Assembly, Central and local agencies for helping us live in peace for nearly 50 years, helping us live in a peaceful society.

State agencies have signed 16 new-generation free trade agreements and are about to sign three more. This is an opportunity for businesses to do business with other countries, creating a free and creative environment to develop their capacity. This is a sincere thank you from the business community and millions of workers to leaders at all levels,” Mr. Binh said when meeting Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the afternoon of October 11.

Recalling the early days of FPT's founding, Chairman Truong Gia Binh could not hide his pride.

Those were the first days when he and his friends gathered at house number 30 Hoang Dieu to discuss ideas for survival.

The company was established with almost zero capital: no operating capital, no headquarters, no experience. “ At that time, our biggest determination was to bring computers to Vietnam and develop information technology,” said Mr. Binh.

After a year of struggling to make money to maintain operations, FPT got its first contract to build an air conditioning system for Thanh Hoa Tobacco Factory. The contract was worth 10.5 million VND, while his salary at that time was only about 100,000 VND/month.

The second contract was to supply computers to the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

“Before returning home, I worked at the Soviet Academy of Sciences. I noticed that they didn’t have personal computers, so we sent them an offer.

I drafted a letter for Mr. Nguyen Van Dao to send to the Vice President of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. They immediately invited us to come over to work. It was a record-breaking contract in terms of revenue at that time, worth 10.5 million rubles (equivalent to 16 million USD at that time)," Mr. Binh recalled.

Thanks to this contract, FPT established a relationship with Olivetti Computer Company and focused on developing the IT model. In 1990, the company changed its name to Financing and Promoting Technology Company and has kept the abbreviation FPT until now.

Talking about the most important factor for FPT to achieve the success it has today, Mr. Binh said that the most important is "team spirit".

“In difficult times, everyone has to save themselves. They do all kinds of jobs, all kinds of professions, but often do it as individuals.

We are friends who become teammates, companions, sharing love, working for each other and doing great things together. Saving ourselves is possible, but deep down in our hearts, we earnestly wish to contribute to the prosperity of the country, ” Mr. Binh emphasized.

“ A president should do big things and think big. This is true. For example, I have very big tasks, including the target of 5 billion USD in revenue in foreign markets, or one million digital transformation experts by 2035.

But I discovered another formula for happiness: great happiness sometimes comes from small challenges, even trivial ones for many people. So every day, I will find small challenges to do. Things that may not be considered by some people to be the level of the president.

Or I find joy in intimate connections. Every time I have the opportunity to invite employees to my house for dinner and a chat, I feel very excited. Or every time I have the opportunity to go to Da Nang to play with the children of Hope School, I am extremely happy," said Mr. Binh.

This thought of his was the premise for the construction of the Hope School, which aims to educate more than 200 children orphaned by COVID-19. The total number of students in the 2023-2024 school year is expected to be 300, each representing an extraordinary story about the spirit of a "brave warrior".

One day last August, in the midst of a busy work schedule in Da Nang, Mr. Truong Gia Binh still stopped by Hy Vong School. The teachers informed Mr. Binh that he was visiting, and the children rushed out happily.

The FPT Chairman patted each child on the head and shoulder, asking: " How are you? ", " How is the robot ?". He listened attentively, occasionally bursting into happy laughter.

"I have strong belief that one of you will one day sit in the chair of FPT Corporation," he shared.

Many years ago, Mr. Binh thought that his happiness was that even though he was born during the war, amidst falling bombs and bullets, his country still took full care of him: learning foreign languages, participating in math competitions, and studying abroad.

After finishing his studies and returning, in the midst of the difficult subsidy period, he was once again tolerated and loved, building FPT - a new type of organization, step by step with friends and teammates, to build it into a strong corporation.

“ When faced with challenges, I have no choice but to take the plunge. I am fortunate to have friends and teammates standing side by side so that I am never alone or have the thought of stopping. All difficulties are just tests. When faced and overcome, happiness at the end of the road is complete and perfect,” Mr. Binh said about his happiness.

From that philosophy of happiness, Mr. Truong Gia Binh expects FPT to become an organization that creates happiness, meaning that every strategic action will be for the happiness of customers and the success of businesses and the government.

He expressed his belief that by 2035, 13 years from now, FPT will have one million employees participating in the digital transformation journey.

“In today’s office environment, if injustice, factionalism, and oppression arise, employees will not be happy. They will only be happy when they understand that we are all working for a common goal and that we are “accomplices” to each other.

I am proud that FPT is receiving 90% positive reviews from employees, and is rated by Great Place To Work as an “Excellent Workplace”. It is a place of fairness and friendliness; in addition to the employee pride index with the collective, the cohesion index and satisfaction with leadership are at a high level,” said Mr. Binh.

Source: https://vtc.vn/chu-tich-hdqt-tap-doan-fpt-truong-gia-binh-u70-van-thuc-chien-ban-hang-ar826557.html