Six Lessons from Sukanto Tanoto, the richest Indonesian

Sukanto Tanoto is the richest Indonesian according to Forbes Magazine, with total net-worth of US$ 3.8 billion. His current business vehicle is Raja Garuda Mas International with its activities ranging from paper, palm oil, construction, and energy business sectors.

What can we learn from him?

1. Ability to spot business opportunity

Mr. Tanoto realized that Indonesia was exporting logs to be converted to plywood in Japan and Taiwan, and then imported back at higher costs. Mr. Tanoto believed that he could process the logs locally. In 1973, he set up RGM to enter the plywood business.

Air Asia, Now Everyone Can Fly...

2. Always under promise and over deliver, not the other way around

He convinced the Minister for Industries to give him a special permit required to build a plywood factory. The factory was completed with 10 months - more than four months ahead of schedule. The minister was impressed, to the point of alerting Indonesia's then-President.

3. The importance of education

Sukanto Tanoto regretted his interrupted formal education. He was aware that English skills and global exposure would be important if he wanted to expand globally. This determination motivated him to learn English word-by-word, using a Chinese-English dictionary against 3 American magazines - Life, Readers' Digest and Newsweek.

With a voracious appetite for more education, he left for Jakarta for business studies in the mid-1970s, when his enterprise had stabilized. Mr. Tanoto went as far as pursuing management courses abroad, from prestigious schools which included INSEAD, Harvard, Wharton, and Carnegie Mellon.


4. Time management is critical to success, know how to utilize spare time

He is also known for maximizing his time in the plane when traveling on business trips reading up on history and economics.

5. Business is not about making money, it's way beyond that.

Mr. Tanoto's pulp & paper company, Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL), has a well-planned CSR program and operates based on a simple motto - people, planet and profits.

It is a member of the United Nations Global Compact, which promotes responsible corporate citizenship, the corporate partner of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Champions of the Earth Awards, and is also the only Indonesian company that is a member of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which is dedicated to sustainable development through economic growth, ecological balance and social progress.

6. Finally, Don't forget to give back to society


Mr. Tanoto and his family have also formed the Tanoto Foundation in 2001, with the aim of helping reduce poverty and advancing human achievement. Working primarily in the areas of education, healthcare and disaster relief, the Foundation makes available scholarships to students, provides honorariums to teachers and upgrades their skills, builds schools and supplies equipment and books as well as providing healthcare in remote areas and rapid response assistance in earthquakes and other natural calamities.

Source: http://www.sukantotanoto.net/