Business today is very challenging, its sustainability is questioned. It is not surprising when many businesses are popular but in a matter of months they disappear.
Therefore, a sustainable business is a challenge. Thus, the consciousness to keep the balance between motivation for profit and protecting the environment became one of the keys to success in business.
As stated by Dr. Syahrial Mukhtar, Vice President of Stakeholder Relations of PT. Pertamina (Persero), while giving a briefing at the pre-graduation ceremony period I of the academic year 2016/2017, recently, the presence of the digital economy is the biggest influence on economic growth. Digital economy is, again, becoming a trend as a driver for economic growth.
With the digital economy, all is connected. IT makes all connected and many businesses have already used digital strategy, such as e-commerce for business, e-gov for education and medical records for medical world.
"All can be accessed quickly. Plus the presence of sharing economy, it changes our views. As it turns out assets can be made more productive through aggregators that try to find demand and supply sites. We could see the phenomenon through the emergence of GOJEK, UBER and others," he explained.
Related to AEC, said Syahrial, the impact on the economy should be observed. Because after all, AEC can actually be seen from two sides, as an opportunity or as a threat.
"Of course we see it as an opportunity, so we must be ready with all the capacity we have. It's a phenomenon that inevitably must be observed," he said.
To that end, Syahrial reminded UGM graduates that during a lecture on campus, students learn more hard skills than soft skills. While to succeed in the work place, soft skill is significantly important.
"The most important thing in the work place is the soft skills. Soft skills are the main asset for the success of a person, because no more than 20 percent of the knowledge gained in college will be used," he explained.
Syahrial, who studied Master of Management at UGM between 1988-2000, viewed soft skill as the most demanded skill at work. Because it could determine whether a person could become leaders who are able to lead or not. In fact, with soft skills one could inspire others to become agents of change.
"This values are the values that determine a company's success in facing the challenges in the business world. There are three values that we must look in order to succeed which are integrity, creativity and diversity," he said.
The same was conveyed by Dr. Supriyatno, MBA, Director of the Bank of Central Java. As the second speaker, who is also an alumnus of the Faculty of Economics and Business in 1983, he agreed that soft skills become key factors for success of a person in the work place.
"GPA is less decisive than soft skills. Just like my skill to play music, it’s a proof," said Supriyatno.