EP 10: What running marathons taught me about vision

The tech industry faces change and competitive disruptions frequently. How can leaders cope with immediate needs whilst maintaining long-term vision? In this episode of our Conscious Leadership series, Tan Kuan Yan, co-founder of Jublia, explains how a direct communication style and an open culture accelerated organisational growth.

Building a business from the ground up is no mean feat. To survive during a pandemic is even more onerous. As the old adage goes, being an entrepreneur is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Whether it’s crossing the finish line within a certain time, or growing a successful business, a marathon runner and an entrepreneur have a challenging end goal in mind. They are both motivated to achieve this goal, and keep their eyes on the prize.

Passion and fire to succeed fuels an entrepreneur. When you trip and stumble, you need to get back quickly on to your feet and resume running. A lot of stamina is needed to stay on course. With a marathon, there are potentially many pauses and breaks. You have to stop and rest. You have to hydrate — you actually stop or slow down for water. There are points when you speed up, and then there are points when you have to slow down or stop.

For Kuan Yan, co-founder of hybrid event matchmaking platform Jublia, he runs marathons in the literal and figurative sense. He tells us how marathons has taught him how to build mental stamina, pace himself and pivot when required.

In the above video, Kuan Yan talks about his beliefs as a business leader; he explains why no one is unskilled, only untapped potential not recognised by a company. He also shares what conscious leadership means to him, the common communication hurdles that many companies face when managing a team member unsuitable for a role, and what leaders need to be mindful of to overcome them.

In case you missed it… EP 9: How to spark team spirit, even amongst strangers.