Speech at Talent Week, October 5th, 2009

Hello everybody,
Ibu Emylia and the Committee asked me to share about my career journeys so far

You know, like all of you, I have had my ups and downs in my professional life.There were occassions where I was really excited about my job, where I enjoy the people that I worked with and where I am satisfied when I delivered my commitments.

But there were also times when I wasn't sure if I made the right decision.Should I remain in my job? Should I move on and look for another job? What to do?

But I realized that it is pointless to grumble. I remember an advice from my first manager. He said to me.. "Iwan, if you are successful, you may not be a happy man. But if you are happy, you could be successful "

So that is my approach. I have come to accept that I may not always be comfortable in my job from the start. Nowadays I tend to look at a longer term perspective. It's a bit like life. Life is not always fair. You deal with the cards that you are given. Overtime, you will get what is your right The trick is how to optimize the current situation

My experience is start engaging. Be very very clear about what you want; whether a higher job group; or a move to another class of business or a change of location ; my experience is we are all reasonable people. You will be listened to

What I think we all must learn - me included- is how to disagree without being disagreeable. This is a true mark of a gentleman or lady. In other words don't give your boss a hardtime. Unless you really have to, but that is another story for another time

One other thing which we need to be better at. Myself included as well. Very often we focus on what's in it for us. Very rarely did we think what is it for the organization

We know what we want but it is not clear what the benefits are for the organization
So that is what I have done

Have a career plan
Have a mentor
Have a buddy
You know, speaking of buddies. The world's best known buddy is Bobby Kennedy. If you think you are JFK, find your Bobby.
Trust him
Trust her
Have a solid IDP discussion
Have an open mind

I know

I have an aspiration of where I want to be

I have some people I am comfortable to be mentored

I have my Bobby

I am always looking forward my IDP discussion

As a result, thrown a bit of luck and an open mind, I have been fortunate in my career to be blessed with challenging jobs

Four classes of business, eight roles

Sales, Marketing, Management Consultant, Business Development, Supply Manage

But good IDPs don't guarantee you good jobs. You'll need more

Now ... you'll notice earlier that I mentioned about how to disagree without being disagreeable
In Shell I found that it is useful to have more people supporting you to find a good career than you have people blocking you for your next job. I call this "the baloon theory"

There are plenty of ways to build this coalition of the willing

Impress senior people.

Make them support you for that job that you always wanted. For that expat job you are dying for. For that promotion you deserve.

Accept difficult jobs

Get out of your comfort zone

Achieve something you never thought possible

Surprise yourself

I know.

In fact you and I know

All of us were part of the team challenged with delivering GSAP and Growth. People thought we were crazy.

You know what?

We delivered.

Difficult times bring the best out of Shell people. Leaders lead but in the end it is the people that deliver. Without the talent and the dedication of all of you, we would not be able to achieve anything. Never let anybody tell you that you are not talented !

As you probably guess by now, by the words I have chosen, by the stories I have given, I have a long history with this company. If you discount my self imposed exile in GE, I have now been working for 13 years, 8 months and 2 days (approximately).

Long time.

So long in fact that this is the second time I am a speaker in talent week. I hope next year, one of you will take my place. It will be your turn, the younger generation.

And in the words of Blair, who seem appropriate

"So it's up to you
You can take my advice
You don't take it. It's your choice.
But in the years to come, wherever you are, whatever you do, if we can help you, we will
Wishing you well, wanting you to succeed
All of you are the future

Make the most of it"

Thank you.

Statement on the 5th birthday of Muhammad Zaky Salim

Today I celebrate the birthday of our son, M. Zaky Salim. He has been a joy to us and have provided personal inspiration to all of us. Zaky is a kind soul and loved by his father, mother, two sisters, grandfathers and grandmothers and primary caregivers.
In his 5th birthday, we offer our prayers for him, so he can continue his progress. We also ask for your prayers so Zaky can grow to be a wonderful person that he is.

Happy Birthday, Son.

With eternal love,
Mom and Dad.

Memories of the Monza Trip in 1999

In 1999, whilst being a marketing manager in Shell UK, I participated in a trip to see a Superbike round in Monza. Part of the entourage was two winners of a Shell competition. His recollections of the trip are recorded in his website
http://users.breathe.com/ducatiman/monz99.htm

Iwan F. Salim
President, Iwan F. Salim Foundation

Statement on Michael Schumacher's cancellation of returning to F-1

I am deeply distraught with the news that Michael is not able to return to Formula 1. His comeback would have enlivened the sport and thrill millions of fans around the globe. I continue to hope that as time progresses, he recuperates from his injuries and he continues to monitor his well being. I am not giving up the prospect of the King returning to track yet.

Iwan F. Salim

President, Iwan F. Salim Foundation

To wait

My fellow Indonesians,

Let us patiently wait.

Statement on the capture of a terrorist

My fellow Indonesians,

From my situation room I have watched the capture of the person believed to be Noordin M. Top. I wish to convey my congratulations to our Police force , in particular to the men and women of the anti terror unit, Detasemen Khusus 88.
This is a clear evidence of our country's commitment to capture the perpetrators of the attacks on the Marriott and Ritz Carlton in Jakarta on July 17th.
However let us not be complacent. The danger remains and while we have captured the current mastermind, I ask your help to continue work together to ensure no future mastermind can inspire the cadres. For today however let us celebrate this great news.

Statement on Police activities in Temanggung

My fellow Indonesians,
This morning the Indonesian police force are surrounding a hut in Temenggung believed to be a transit point for Noordin M. Top. This is an outcome of intensive intelligence activities and must continue to be supported. Whilst waiting for the conclusion of this on-going drama, let us continue to be vigilant and on the look out for potential threats for the safe and well being of our own lives.
In the meantime let us continue to support our Indonesian police in their efforts and pray for their safety.

On The Intranet

Iwan rejoins Shell in 2006, after previously working for ten years in various role in Lubricants , Downstream Business Development Consultancy (OMC) and Shell Global Solutions. Most of his career has been in marketing and business development roles .He had worked as Lubricants marketing manager both in Shell Indonesia and Shell UK Ltd. In his OMC role, he was involved in various projects such as Retail Market Entry, Global Commercial Review, Retail - Lubricants Interface, Global Solutions-Global Lubricants Interface and Global Marketing Effectiveness, most of which he spent in Shell Centre. After a 2 1/2 years role as Indonesia & Pertamina Business Development Manager for Shell Global Solutions, Iwan was appointed as the Indonesia Supply Manager in July 2006. He is now transitioning into a new role of Supply Contracts & Negotiation Manager for Southeast Asia from October 2009 onwards.

How do you balance between work and personal time (work life balance)?
I had planned to persuade myself to take up Golf in my sparetime. However I almost always end up chaffeuring the children around town, which I terribly love. I suspect my fellow Golf beginners would feel the same.

What are your long term aspirations professionally?
I would like to contribute to the best of my ability to my work and people who are dear to me. If allowed, I want to help everyone in the company get to their maximum potential.

Who do you admire the most and why?
I admire people who have done outstanding things - be it in Science, the Arts, Sports, Politics or Business, but I do not have any specific leaders in mind. However I have the greatest admiration and respect for people who have to brave adversity in life and came out from it a stronger and a better person. Examples which come to mind are those who have to fight against potentially fatal ilness or were born with disabilities. You really need to put yourselves in their shoes to appreciate the discrimination or ignorance that they have to overcome. Only after going through this experience, did you realize that most of us are, indeed, lucky.

What is your motto in life?
"Trust, but Verify".

What is the best advise you have ever received?
It was "If you want to be successful, you may not be happy. However, if you are happy, it is likely that you will be successful". To put this into context, at one point in my career, I had sent some angst-riddent notes to my mentor and he coached me on my career decisions. He asked me to put less focus on short term success and more on long term objectives. In retrospect, I think some of us, some time, do fall prey to this temptation. Hope it is as useful to you as it is to me.

Any advise for future leaders of Shell Indonesia?
Seek to understand how your role fits into Shell and the overall market, take the initiative and build your network. Each and everyone of us need to work out what are our contributions to the success of the organization. When we have identified what these contributions , do focus on delivering them. In fact, aim to deliver more than you are asked to do. One way of achieving this is to continue to build your network, so you can accept ever more challenging assignments. When you take on tough roles, you equip yourself with competencies and skills required to attain more senior positions in the organization.

On The Web

The first time I joined Shell was upon finalizing my bachelor’s thesis in June of 1995. In those days, readers of economics from University of Indonesia (like I am) have a tendency to join accounting firms and investment banks. So yes , I did compare Shell with offers from banks, but clearly I felt more ‘at home’ with Shell.

A family friend worked for Shell and he encouraged me to join the company. Prior to that though, I had known about Shell because our family had lived in the Netherlands for a few years. I remember all my Dutch friends in The Hague complimented me when they learned that I was joining Shell. In their view, Shell only recruit the best people.

It has been a long and interesting journey. In total, I have been in Shell for 12 years. Nearly half of that was spent in Lubricants, in Shell Indonesia and Shell UK Ltd, both in sales and marketing, in all the 3 class of markets: consumer, industry and transport. I was also in Shell International’s Business Development Consultancy (OMC) for Downstream for a year, before moving on to Shell Global Solutions for 3 years. I am now starting my third year in Supply.

My experience in Shell - the different business units & roles I have worked in, the different countries I have lived, the different cultures I have encountered – have molded me to become a person who have a higher appreciation of the uniqueness of the cultures and the tremendous riches they brought.

Note this is from http://www.shell.com/home/content/id-en/careers_recruitment/exp_professionals/xp_iwan_salim.html

Statement on the return of the King

I am excited with the announcement of Michael's return to Formula One and especially to Ferrari. I am confident he will bring much attraction to the support and boost to Ferrari's prospects.

Another one for the road

Isn't she a beauty ...