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SCMP Reporter

Francis Mok Gar-lon

Management Training and Development Manager of  the MTR Corporation

Where did you go to school?

I studied at Aberdeen Technical School. It was very good in the 1960s and 70s when Hong Kong was still a manufacturing-based economy, and the quality of staff was excellent. I went from age 11. I came from a poor family and my parents hoped I'd get a good professional job as an engineer.

What were the advantages and disadvantages?

As well as acquiring a good education, I gained a skilled engineering education and my mind developed logically. The downside was that it didn't develop my creative side.

What did you study at university and what was your first job?

I went to McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where I studied electrical engineering.

In  1980 I returned to Hong Kong and worked as a quality assurance engineer for a semiconductor company. I worked there only for a few months before joining the MTRC which recruited me  in

its first batch of graduate engineering trainees. It was a two-year training recognised by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, England. At the end of it, I thought my career path was marked out; I became a chartered engineer and then an engineering manager working on rolling stock.

How did you end up switching to management training?

In the late 80s, the MTRC launched a new cultural programme, the focus of which was core values such as company culture, desirable behaviour and so on. I was invited to undergo management training and become a line trainer - the communicator between management and the workforce. Later, I was advised to make a career switch into management training because I was good at line training.

So you made the change?

Not immediately. It took three months and was not a straightforward decision. As an engineer, I had a good, stable job and a lot of power. I wanted to know if I wasn't good at being an engineer. I was also annoyed that the inference was that I could do a better job in training. But I thought it through logically and realised the adviser was right - my talent did lie in training. I liked dealing with people problems, not engineering problems.

Why did you do an MBA?

I found I didn't possess basic management knowledge, and the MBA was one way of rectifying that. It was excellent for learning marketing, leadership and so on. I did it via the Chinese University.

Any other advantages?

It wasn't so much the knowledge I benefited from as much as the network I formed. The people I met and learned with were managing directors, heads of companies, chief financial officers and we worked together on projects. They were in pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and trading. Now I can make a few phone calls to them for advice and so on.

What's your advice to people considering a career change?

A lot of people don't know their purpose in life. It's like living in the dark. Find out what it is that annoys you and what makes you happy, what motivates you, and so on. For example, is it conquering Mount Everest or discovering a new medicine? Then you can start to narrow down your choices. Remember too that a rich person is not necessarily a successful or fulfilled one.

Lastly, everything comes at a price. For example, to be a senior female executive, you need to put in a lot more effort than to be a male one.

What do you like about your job?

Now I like to see people grow. I like to unleash their power from within so that they can become better people.

What don't you like about it?

I hate to see people who don't change. Also, what has made  people successful in the past can go on to poison them in the future.

In other words, you have to keep abreast of new trends. The MTR is a member of the Richard Ivey School of Business's executive programme.

What does it offer?

It offers programmes that develop outstanding business leaders who think globally and act strategically. You can always learn more.

Any words of wisdom?

Yes, Eric Hoffer, the social philosopher, offered this  insight: 'In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.'

Useful contacts: The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, tel 2895 4446; The Institution of Electrical Engineers, England, tel: (44) 20 7240 1871; The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, tel: (44) 20 7222 7899; the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management, tel: (852) 2881 5113; the Vocational Training Council, tel: 2836 1000; The Chinese University of Hong Kong, tel: 2609 7000; the Richard Ivey School of Business, tel: 2135 2288.



Francis Mok Gar-lon