12 success lessons from ‘Management Man of the Year’ awardee Tessie Sy Coson
Tessie Sy Coson, BDO Unibank chairman and SM Investments Corp. first vice chairman
Teresita “Tessie” Sy Coson didn’t go through the crucible of poverty, but became sharp in business and mature due to the serious work training and high expectations of her dad. She isn’t a rags-to-riches self-made businesswoman, but I do not really consider her a second-generation heiress because she has been an important part in building her father, Henry Sy Sr.’s empire. If he was the founder of the SM Group, she is something like a co-founder.
This has been a good year for the Philippine economy and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) recently honored Tessie, who serves as BDO Unibank chairman and SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) first vice chairman, with the “Management Man of the Year” award.
MAP cited her for the following:
1. Steering the SM Group’s retail business to greater heights with her over four decades of retail experience.
2. Transforming the SM Group’s property business into one of the largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia with investments in malls, residences, commercial buildings, leisure and tourism.
3. Her valuable contribution in sustaining BDO’s position as the leading bank in the Philippines,
4. Her leadership role in the substantial contributions of the SM Group of companies to national development, job creation and income generation through its huge investments in real estate, banking, shopping malls, hotels, convention centers, and gaming.
5. Strengthening the identity of companies under the SM Group as socially responsible corporate citizens through the SM Foundation’s developmental programs on education, livelihood, health and wellness, and the BDO Foundation’s programs in the areas of relief operations, education, shelter and livelihood, which have improved the lives of many Filipinos all over the country.
6. Her contribution to reshaping national values through her track record of integrity, professional competence, and strong leadership.
Based on my observations of her career as leader of the country’s largest bank, biggest retailer and property developer, and also from a few casual encounters at social gatherings, here are some of the lessons I believe we can learn from Tessie Sy Coson:
1. Hard work — Tessie Sy Coson personifies the traditional Confucian work ethic of her family, led by her father, her mother Felicidad Tan Sy, and her siblings. Tessie is highly regarded not only for being very hardworking but also for working smart. She has been helping the family business since age 13.
2. Strong leadership — Tessie is a strong and decisive leader.
3. Continuous research and study — She once said that you “always look for more information. So you research a lot, then you learn through observing other people, even other companies.” She once also said, “I would read business books, go to (trade) fairs.”
4. Strategic thinking — Tessie has a strategic mindset. Leslie Martel Baer wrote: “Ultimately, a strategic mindset means you have a vision for your business beyond year-end: you can visualize two, five or even 10 years out. That means setting broader goals — but still with time frames and relevant metrics. And, you can relate day-to-day decisions both to immediate business impact and progress toward those long-term goals.”
5. Attention to detail — Her early training in the challenging field of retail business and past work in fashion merchandising have honed her attention to detail, which seems to be an important element in her success in various businesses, whether banking or malls.
6. Nurture talent and delegate — She once said she could get a good night’s sleep daily because she has talented people helping her out. She knows how to delegate.
7. Be persevering — From 2004 to 2006, Tessie led her family’s BDO to diligently and patiently acquire controlling shareholdings in the then-bigger Equitable Bank. In accomplishing this, she had to overcome various boardroom intrigues and battles as well as media criticism. She once said, “It sounds like a cliché but try and try until you succeed.”
8. Good marketing — Advertising industry executives told me that they originally thought the SM Group would be conservative in deploying advertising in marketing, compared to another rival, which is a multi-generational conglomerate, but they told me they were surprised that Tessie was more open-minded and decisive.
9. Be a risk-taker — The entrepreneur in Tessie makes her a bold risk-taker.
10. Be innovative — From the way she handled details of fashion merchandising, pioneering in showcasing the creations of Filipino designers in her family’s SM department stores to her remaking BDO into an efficient, more mass-market and more accessible bank, Tessie is innovative.
11. Filial piety to parents — Tessie is known to be filial and obedient to her parents. This is not only a very important Biblical teaching in Christianity that bestows blessings on those who are filial; filial piety or “xiao sun” in Mandarin is also the most important Confucian virtue in Chinese as well as East Asian culture.
12. Be humble —Last but not least, Tessie is the complete opposite of our many Philippine telenovela depictions of corporate leaders as aloof or even outright haughty. Tessie is extremely down-to-earth and shows us that, often in this world, greatness comes from humility.
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