I learnt the core value of working hard and dreaming big at a very early stage of my life. My country suffers from wars for more than hundred years, fighting with both civil and foreign enemies, until 1975. I was born 10 years after that, and forced to live with my grandparents since my parents studied abroad. My grandfather is a great man, he established the first steel factory in Vietnam, which set the foundation for Vietnamese Industry later on. He is austere, hard-working man with a strict discipline. Since I was too young, I could not learn everything from him, however, I still remember his favorite quote from Earl Nightingale and try to repeat it every day when I wake up “We will receive not what we idly wish for but what we justly earn. Our rewards will always be in exact proportion to our service”.

Since I was a young boy, I realized my passion about technology, especially about how technology companies like Google or Apple do business. For this reason, I decided to study my undergraduate degree in Automation in Germany, which is considered to be one of the best places to study technology. There, I could learned not only about technology, but, more importantly the German spirit and discipline as their slogan “Nichts ist unmöglich”[1]. During my internship, I had a chance to work for one of the biggest automobile R&D Center of Bosch Ltd. It is the first time I had my professional job, and I learnt not only about the practical experience but also had a chance to see how people communicate and work together to solve problems. However, after 6 months, I realized that a working position as a researcher in a big cooperation does not fit my personality as well as expectations. I went back to Vietnam after graduation.

In Vietnam, I wanted to find a dynamic job that related to both my favorite fields, technical and commercial. I was eager to join ABB Ltd., one of the worldwide leader firm in automation and electricity, and luckily they accepted me to work as a project manager for their SPT[2] factory in Hanoi. It was such a hard time for me, a fresh graduated student, to control and manage other people, which are older and have much more experience than me. Another issues that I faced, that my work required me to edit and negotiate some terms of contracts with customers to get the most benefits to my company. As time goes by, I get used to the commercial terms; for example, I could understand transportation Incoterms like EXW, CIF, and FOB, or payment terms such as telegraphic transfer (T/T), letter of credit (L/C), and CIT[3]. One day, my boss give me an order with one of biggest Japanese contractor, the JGC cooperation. Our last order with JGC is a disaster, which ABB Vietnam is banned for all Japanese contractors for 10 years. This order was our biggest chance to come back to Japan, one of the toughest countries in the world. After several meeting with high level manager, I was assigned to be project leader of the whole project, which involve both SPT and DTR[4] factories. I have learned a lot of experience from this project, from how my Japanese partner cares about every single details like bolts or screws, to the way they keep track on the project plan every day. Furthermore, when we had problems, I could see clearly the way the Japanese tackled issues, that they attack directly the problems, not person nor my company. After nine months, we could delivery all the required transformers, and the project could be considered to be successful.

However, after that, I realized that I lack not only managerial skills but also commercial knowledge and soft skills. At this time, I also think again about my long-term goal since I was young as I always desire to start my own business. It may be not only for the additional income I might have, it is about the autonomy – the right to lead the business in the way I want and turning my ideas into reality. Furthermore, if my business was successful, I could help my family, my friends or even provide jobs to people in my country. In order to pursue my dream, I understand that there are a lot of skills, knowledge that I must learn as well as I need to transform completely with a strict discipline and hard-working behavior. For this reason, I decide to quit my job and apply for MBA course in George Mason University with the hope that this course could help me to fill in my gaps.

The George Mason University with a rich accomplishment history ranks among the premier, I expect that after graduation MBA here, I can enhance not only my skills and knowledge, but also I hope that I can have a new overall vision of business. There is also my great opportunity to work closely with American students and professors to understand American cultures and to see why American is a global business leader since it established.

[1] “Nichts ist unmöglich” means “Nothing is impossible”

[2] SPT stands for Small Power Transformer

[3] CIT is a special internal payment term within ABB cooperation, which required instant payment after delivery.

[4] DTR stands for Distribution Transformer