YOGYAKARTA – In starting a business, learning to produce new creativity is very important. Imitating things will not bear creativity. Therefore, to create new product ideas needs to think outside the box. It is like learning to swim, to know the theory is not enough, people must dive into the water.
"Creativity is like a diamond, you have to hone it to always shine. Never blame circumstances as an excuse just because you are not ready for it," the CEO of General Electric (GE) of Indonesia, Dr. Ir. Handry Satriago, MM., MBA., spoke as a guest lecturer in the auditorium of MM UGM.
According to Handry, he has always been holding on to that principle working for fifteen years in GE Indonesia. Up to now, the position of CEO is in his hand. Nearly 70 years GE has been in Indonesia, only now it has an Indonesian CEO. According to Handry, his experience as CEO makes him aware of the importance of the nation’s sons and daughters to have good managerial ability and leadership in order to compete on a global level. "If we don’t become subject of globalization, then we will always be the object," he added.
He admitted, currently Indonesian human resource has not developed well for participation in the global competition. For him, this condition is like that in the Dutch colonial period. Therefore, a new nationalism is needed. "It is not because our batik and reog are acknowledged by other country, then we get angry. With the new nationalism, we expect the children of this nation to be a global player who can win the global competition and to give benefit from globalization," he said.
To be a world-class entrepreneur, Handry said, by mastering the theory of business is not sufficient but the willingness to start doing business. For him, business is not just a chart, diagram, or statistics, but business is execution. "The leading businessmen begin by feeling. Indeed, not all can be successful, but it’s all done by starting from scratch. If you have big dreams, the first step that is required is a big sacrifice," he added.