Tanri Abeng works without stress

Tanri Abeng works without stress

JAKARTA (JP): Everyone who works under pressure is prone to
stress, but not Tanri Abeng, the president of Bakrie & Brothers.

"What is stress? If you ask me if I work under pressure, the
answer is yes. But not stress," he said.

Playing tennis at least twice a week helps him avoid stress,
but what's more important for Tanri is to be realistic, natural
and positive.

"We have to get back to nature... If we think naturally and we
are realistic, I think we will be able to deal with our
problems," he said.

In difficult times, he keeps his chin up. Sometimes things
just do not work, leaving him disappointed, but not distressed.

"If something does not work, we have to admit the fact that it
does not work. We should not be under stress, but we have to do
our best and try to improve things."

Being aware of one's weakness is important because people will
be able to be better only if they know their shortcomings, he
said.

Tanri, one of the best managers in the country, was born in a
small town of Selayar in South Sulawesi in 1942. He won a
scholarship to study in a high school in New York. In 1962, he
went to the School of Economics at Hasanuddin University in
Ujungpandang in South Sulawesi. There he won a scholarship to
pursue an MBA at the State University of New York.

"I had not graduated but they encouraged me to try. In fact, I
was able to finish my study within one year and a half, instead
of two years," he said.

Returning to Indonesia in 1968, Tanri worked for Union Carbide
Corporation, an American company. In 1980, he moved to PT Multi
Bintang Indonesia, a brewer operated by Heineken. The company's
poor performance changed soon after Tanri joined.

Late in 1989, he joined the Bakrie Group for a Rp 1 billion
(US$500 million) transfer fee. Tanri, still shining bright at
Bintang, is currently a chairman of its supervisory board.

Tanri believes strongly in systems. He built a management
system at Bakrie Brothers and within five years the company has
grown tenfold.

"It's true that the company grew well after I joined it. But
it develops well not because of me," said the low-profile Tanri.

He said credit for Bakrie's success should go to the
entrepreneurs, who have a good vision for the development of the
group.

"I am only the facilitator, who enables the development by
building the organization, the system and the human resources.
There is a strong alliance between the entrepreneurs and the
management," he said.

He said the alliance between the management and the
entrepreneur is strong because he only deals with Aburizal
Bakrie, chief commissioner of the company, not with his other
brothers.

He praises Aburizal for being consistent.

"I have my power in the management, I can overrule him. He can
say: 'I want this person to hold this position.' But if I say
'no,' there is nothing he can do. But he has the power on where
to invest and how big the investment is," he said.

Bakrie Brothers has clear rules, which are not found in other
family-owned corporations, he said.

He emphasizes that he works only for the company. "I take care
of the business, but not the family."

Tanri said he works for Bakrie Brothers because he wants to
dedicate himself to developing national assets, while sharing the
expertise he obtained after working for almost 20 years with
multinational corporations.

School

Management is paramount to the success of a business.
Unfortunately, Indonesia is in dire need of managers and other
professionals. This has moved the Bakrie group to set up a school
of management for professional managers. Tanri is busy preparing
the concept and the school is scheduled to open within a year.

"I am still preparing the concept. This is a big job. I am
still looking for the best model of management building, taking a
look at Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and the United States. This is
a big job. I really want this management school to be
comprehensive." he said.

Last month he met with President Soeharto to discuss the
proposal to set up the management school.

According to Tanri, the school will produce professional
managers through in-depth managerial training for people who
already fill managerial position.

Eighty percent of the teaching staff will be foreigners.

"There is a wide gap between the growth of business and the
number of professional managers," he said.

"The growth in the business is very fast. Conglomerates or
capitalists can set up a new company in two days, they can even
buy a company. They often forget that they need competent
managers," he said.

"They tend to grab any business opportunity without
considering who will manage the business. Some of them start to
think about the managerial problems after they make the
commitment for the new investment. Some do not even think about
that at all, believing that things can work on their own," he
said.

The shortage of managers and other professionals has forced
capital owners to import expatriate managers or hijack local
managers from other companies.

"What happens is incredible. There is no normal growth.
Businesses grow at 30 to 40 percent a year. Just look at Bakrie
Brothers. It has grown tenfold within five years," he said.

Tanri said there are only 11 foreign managers, mostly Asians,
at Bakrie Brothers. The number is small compared to 15,000
employees of the group, including 1,000 at managerial levels.
Bakrie prefers Asians because they come cheaper, are competent
and have less trouble adapting to the culture.

Tanri admits that compared to Western managers, some
Indonesians are less disciplined and favor their friends or
relatives.

"Sometimes it's difficult for us to separate our private
interest from business ones. Because of our culture, we often
take pity on our friends or relatives, and give them
dispensation," he said.

Tanri is married to Farida Nasution, his classmate at
Hasanuddin University and has two sons. He does not allow them to
work for the Bakrie group. He said there are other places that
suit them.

Asked how he managed time for his family Tantri said, "I have
to sacrifice one of them. I tell my family that I can't have
dinner with them all the time... They understand."

Sufficient

Tanri lives in a big house in Simprug, South Jakarta. Several
cars are seen in his garage.

"This Mercedes belongs to Bakrie, while the BMW is Bintang's,"
he said.

He is far from glamorous. For The Jakarta Post interview at
his house, he wore a white T-shirt emblazoned with "Indonesia, a
world all its own," and leather sandals.

He said he does not like to accumulate wealth, saying: "I want
to live sufficiently."

"I also do some businesses because my friends asked me to join
them. My philosophy in life is not to be rich but to be
sufficient; to have a lot of friends but no enemy. I want to help
many people," he said.

"I help many people by working at Bakrie and I want to get
involved in education because I want to help many people," he
said.

Tanri has always been interested in teaching. As a child,
Tanri dreamed of becoming a teacher. In his eyes, there were no
other people better than teachers.

"I put teachers above other professions. I was also impressed
by the way they dressed, which was very neat," he said.

As he grew up, he plunged himself in economics but he is still
interested in the field of education. When he retires, Tanri
wants to dedicate his life to teaching management.

"I am tired. But the time has not come for me to retire.
Suppose today there is one who can replace me, I will resign....
After I retire, I want to enjoy my life and get involved in
education," he said.

Tanri, a member of the advisory board of the Indonesian
Institute of Management Development, likes to learn. He always
feels that he needs improvement.

"I have to know about politics and social issues. I have to
broaden my horizon because social and political factors can
affect the working environment," said Tanri, a member of the
People's Consultative Assembly.

"But I don't want to be involved in practical politics," he
added quickly. (sim/rid/riz)