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)