Dato’ Loy Teik Ngan - From Billionaire's Son to Losing it All and Starting Over [The Business of Family]

11/23/20 • 46 min

Dato’ Loy Teik Ngan, the eldest son of a well-known entrepreneur who built one of the largest business conglomerates in Malaysia, Teik Ngan took over the rein of his family company upon his father’s demise. Within a year, the sprawling business empire that took 35 years to build, collapsed under the weight of huge debts amidst the 1998 Asian financial crisis.

14 years passed before all personal liabilities of his family from the days of the financial crisis were eventually settled. In the process, he built a new family business, in education. The Taylor’s Education Group is today the largest private education group in Malaysia. Focused on premium education, Taylor’s K-12 schools & higher education institutions are widely recognised as the top education institutions in their respective categories. Taylor’s institutions operate in Malaysia, Singapore & Vietnam.

The struggles during the tough financial period of his life shaped Teik Ngan’s stewardship views for family business. Appreciating unity, his family has introduced concepts and activities that promote collaborative conversations & strengthen relationships. He is dedicated to the development & transition of his family’s next generation of 13.

Teik Ngan’s family are active members of the Family Business Network Asia & he is the current President of the Board.

Standout Quotes:

"We had to learn how to live together; we had to form a Living Together Committee"
"One thing that normally goes wrong when families end up in dispute is lack of proper communication"
"The family unit is important and sometimes we are subservient to the larger family"
"We try to always emphasize that the family comes before the business, the business allows us the blessing to be able to have the lifestyle that we have, but we have to work together as a family first"
"Do you want to be Rich or do you want to be King?"
"I would encourage my kids to understand the context in why they do what they do... What is it all for? Wealth is fleeting; wealth is something that we cannot take with us when we die"

Key Takeaways:

Dato’ informed the bank he was indebted to, that they could either push him into bankruptcy or loan him more money to rebuild and pay back the company debts.
A living together committee had to be formed to help the large family live in one compound.
Knowing that lack of communication was a common cause of family disputes prompted the introduction of Forums to build positive communication.
Dato’ shares that the most important thing that has been done as leader of the family business in recent times is Annual Vacations.
The difference between "Family Business" and "Business family" is that in 'Family Business', the family comes before the business.
Guided by the shared family values, one of which is "Achievement and Learning", Dato’ explains how the next generation is encouraged to follow their passion even when it may be outside the family business.
The concept of a "Personal Portfolio" in creating an education plan for the family
The difference between being rich and being a king is that a king has ultimate authority, loyal subjects and lots he has to look after but being rich is just going for performance, the best point is somewhere between both
Dato’ explains the concept of the "Deathwalk", an exercise involving walking into our death, looking back at our current age, and giving ourselves the advice we would.

Episode Timeline:

[00:49] Introducing Dato’ Loy and 'The Taylor's Education group'
[01:59] Dato’ narrates the events surrounding his transition into his father's company, which was is debt before the overwhelming challenges brought about by the Asian financial crisis
[07:02] Dato’ admits he was ill-prepared for the scale of complexity involved in the business, worsened by the lack of adequate resources to surmount the crisis at the time.
[08:43] From a collapsed family business to a thriving one
[13:45] Dato’ describes in detail the current size and scale of the family business
[14:50] How did these experiences shape your views towards stewardship of the family business?
[20:50] The living together committee
[23:28] Dato’ explains the different strategies employed to keep the family harmony
[29:25] Differentiating between "Family Business" and "Business family"
[33:35] Are you actively planning and anticipating succession with the next generation?
[35:16] The concept of a "Personal Portfolio" in creating an education plan for the family
[40:53] In the...

Teik Ngan’s family are active members of the Family Business Network Asia & he is the current President of the Board.

Standout Quotes:

"We had to learn how to live together; we had to form a Living Together Committee"
"One thing that normally goes wrong when families end up in dispute is lack of proper communication"
"The family unit is important and sometimes we are subservient to the larger family"
"We try to always emphasize that the family comes before the business, the business allows us the blessing to be able to have the lifestyle that we have, but we have to work together as a family first"
"Do you want to be Rich or do you want to be King?"
"I would encourage my kids to understand the context in why they do what they do... What is it all for? Wealth is fleeting; wealth is something that we cannot take with us when we die"

Key Takeaways:

Dato’ informed the bank he was indebted to, that they could either push him into bankruptcy or loan him more money to rebuild and pay back the company debts.
A living together committee had to be formed to help the large family live in one compound.
Knowing that lack of communication was a common cause of family disputes prompted the introduction of Forums to build positive communication.
Dato’ shares that the most important thing that has been done as leader of the family business in recent times is Annual Vacations.
The difference between "Family Business" and "Business family" is that in 'Family Business', the family comes before the business.
Guided by the shared family values, one of which is "Achievement and Learning", Dato’ explains how the next generation is encouraged to follow their passion even when it may be outside the family business.
The concept of a "Personal Portfolio" in creating an education plan for the family
The difference between being rich and being a king is that a king has ultimate authority, loyal subjects and lots he has to look after but being rich is just going for performance, the best point is somewhere between both
Dato’ explains the concept of the "Deathwalk", an exercise involving walking into our death, looking back at our current age, and giving ourselves the advice we would.

Episode Timeline:

[00:49] Introducing Dato’ Loy and 'The Taylor's Education group'
[01:59] Dato’ narrates the events surrounding his transition into his father's company, which was is debt before the overwhelming challenges brought about by the Asian financial crisis
[07:02] Dato’ admits he was ill-prepared for the scale of complexity involved in the business, worsened by the lack of adequate resources to surmount the crisis at the time.
[08:43] From a collapsed family business to a thriving one
[13:45] Dato’ describes in detail the current size and scale of the family business
[14:50] How did these experiences shape your views towards stewardship of the family business?
[20:50] The living together committee
[23:28] Dato’ explains the different strategies employed to keep the family harmony
[29:25] Differentiating between "Family Business" and "Business family"
[33:35] Are you actively planning and anticipating succession with the next generation?
[35:16] The concept of a "Personal Portfolio" in creating an education plan for the family
[40:53] In the...

Previous Episode

Caroline Link - 4th Generation Heir to B.Grimm, one of Thailand’s Oldest Business Institutions [The Business of Family]

Caroline Link, a 4th generation family member who is being groomed to run B.Grimm, one of Thailand’s oldest family-owned industrial conglomerates. Caroline grew up in a family where the common driving value and belief was to conduct business with compassion and in harmony with nature.

Through multiple generations of management, and multiple business areas and geographies, B.Grimm (which was founded in Bangkok in 1878), has managed to cultivate a spirit of innovation and empowerment among its staff.

Standout Quotes:

“All the family members that are not in the business are just as important because they also form who you are, form your opinions, and influence you in some way” – [Caroline Link]
“I think the most important thing that we invest in, is our reputation and that is really the most important thing that we have” – [Caroline Link]
“Being a family business; that really helped in a way because these strong values, they weren’t only passed on when you became a leader within the company, but they were lived in the household” – [Caroline Link]
“Keep working on yourself, and if you want things to change you have to initiate it and change yourself” – [Caroline Link]

Key Takeaways:

Caroline explains that the resilience of the family business over time was born from the entrepreneurial spirit in the leaders, as well as a strong culture that is value and purpose-driven
A family business is different from normal business; families come from a place of love, harmony, and support, and it’s important to look at this dynamic
Caroline describes that the most important thing the business invests in is “Reputation”, and a lot of the reputation is based on the company's purpose and culture.
Following an exercise aimed at creating an in-depth definition of the company as a whole, it was realized that the key to the success of the company, even from the founders, was an inherent drive towards helping society and creating value.
Caroline also shares that a workshop on family values revealed the two main values in her family to be ”Contribution” and “Sense of Freedom”
It is important to develop a strong sense of self-awareness; keep working on yourself, and if you want things to change you have to initiate it and change yourself
Find what makes you happy professionally and gives you meaning, and make a contribution

Episode Timeline:

[00:48] Meeting the guest; Caroline Link, and the B.Grimm company
[01:33] A brief history on the founding of the B.Grimm Company up to the 3rd generation
[06:48] Caroline shares that she was lucky her interests were aligned with many fields that the family business was already involved in.
[08:40] How has the family business remained resilient for such a long time?
[09:53] How the family has governed itself successfully
[15:52] Diversifying the family wealth outside of the business
[16:54] Caroline describes that the family strives to build an archive of the business history even though so much of it has been lost to wars and a fire accident.
[20:23] What is the most worthwhile investment you have ever made?
[22:01] Who is B.Grimm?
[23:20] The two main family values shared by Caroline’s family
[25:17] The scale of the B.Grimm enterprise
[28:06] Caroline’s thoughts on the children being a part of the family business
[31:58] A letter from Caroline to her Kids

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Caroline Link.

Next Episode

Jonathan Goldhill - 4th Generation Inheritor, Coach & Author of Disruptive Successor [The Business of Family]

Jonathan Goldhill is an Experienced Coach to Entrepreneurs and Family-Owned Businesses. He states that the dwindling chances of multigenerational success are due in large part to the issues unique to family businesses that are often wrapped up in a tightly woven knot of unspoken plans.

In his new book DISRUPTIVE SUCCESSOR, Jonathan offers a proven framework and playbook for unwinding this knot, scaling up your business or planning your exit.

Standout Quotes:

"Perhaps all multi-generational businesses should have a family constitution, while we're naming secretaries and treasurers... why not name a historian?" – [Jonathan Goldhill]
"There's no evil to money... it's the absence of instilling good values as to what the significance of that money means" – [Jonathan Goldhill]
"There's a requirement of the older generation that if they're going to leave money to a younger generation that they provide some guardrails around it" – [Jonathan Goldhill]
96% of all business in the US are under a million dollars in revenue, and 64% of the GDP in the US is coming from family businesses. – [Jonathan Goldhill]
"It takes time for one generation to let go and release and enjoy what they've built, and trust the next generation to grow it bigger and do it safely" – [Jonathan Goldhill]
"I'm not in the business of family coaching, I'm in the families doing business coaching" – [Jonathan Goldhill]
The hardest part I think of running businesses is managing the people and getting the right people in your company. – [Jonathan Goldhill]
"There's a time for family, a time for business, and then there's time for the family business or the business of family where they overlap in between" – [Mike Boyd]
"Life is hard work and if you're not working on yourself then nobody else is going to" – [Jonathan Goldhill]

Key Takeaways:

One of the downsides of being wealthy is that wealthy people can be very busy at the expense of spending time with children
Jonathan emphasizes the importance of a family business archive as he explains he does not know exactly how his grandfather's family business was shut down.
The blessing and curse of setting up a trust fund: there's lots of misinterpretation of younger generations when they inherit that wealth
There's a requirement of the older generation that if they're going to leave money to a younger generation that they provide some guardrails around it.
Jonathan explains that there is a generational gap with unspoken conversations between generations, and the families he knows had the best transitions communicated as peers.
Business coaching is not about hitting a mass number of people, it's about the business of the family.
If you're not having important conversations, then you're not building a healthy business.
Hard work isn't always in the form of just long hours and physical toil, it comes from commitment and dedication to improve oneself and be better.

Episode Timeline:

[00:48] Introducing Jonathan Goldhill who shares some history of his grandfather's family business.
[08:09] How exactly did the business end?
[11:57] Jonathan describes one of his attempts at starting a new business and the challenges that effectively impeded the success of the business
[16:08] The impact of wealth on Jonathan growing up
[21:40] How did you take this formative experience from your own family to help other business families through their situations?
[32:50] Who typically engages you; is it more of the successor generation or the boomers who have built the family business and are looking to hand over?
[34:55] About Jonathan's book: "The Disruptive Successor"
[41:10] The role of the different cultures in the family business
[44:50] Defining "Family"
[48:00] A letter from Jonathan to his kids

*For more episodes go to *
BusinessOfFamily.net

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Jonathan Goldhill.