Changing direction at 40

It was surprising to hear that Nguyễn Tuấn Quỳnh, PNJ's youngest and highly promising deputy general director, also Chairman of Saigon Fuel Joint Stock Company (SFC) and Vice Chairman of Phương Nam Cultural Joint Stock Company (PNC), had decided to “retire” at 40 to spend time exploring himself through books and discovering new countries…

Mr. Quỳnh also carefully planned social activities such as teaching, writing articles to share insights, speaking with students and advising young startup founders after ending his career as a hands-on business executive.

After 5 years at PNJ, Nguyễn Tuấn Quỳnh had established a personal brand associated with successfully managing its investment business. In addition to governance and executive positions at 6 other businesses, he serves as Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Young Businesspeople Association (YBA), overseeing its Training and Legal Advisory Committee. He is also BNI Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City Regional Director, part of a global business networking organization guided by the principle of giving to receive (Giver's gains).

It seems Nguyễn Tuấn Quỳnh wants to stop at the peak of glory.

“I do not think I will stop at the pinnacle of success. To me, success still lies ahead. I simply want to devote my time to the work that I believe creates the most value for myself and others. It may be as simple as reading books and sharing what I learn with young people,” Mr. Quỳnh said passionately.

Speaking again of sharing, Nguyễn Tuấn Quỳnh seems to have chosen it as his life motto. His first task each morning now is to go on Facebook and share a thought about life, love or his own feelings.

Doing this consistently is not easy, as we witnessed a restless breakfast filled with Nguyễn Tuấn Quỳnh's group phone calls. In such a position, the early-day workload is certainly heavy, and few people waste precious time on Facebook.

“I do not consider it a waste. Sharing philosophies about life is also how I nourish my own soul,” Mr. Quỳnh confided.

Nguyễn Tuấn Quỳnh's friends have even become accustomed to receiving his messages about life and love every morning. If none arrives one morning, they immediately check on him.

According to Mr. Quỳnh, one of his greatest joys now is receiving thanks from younger colleagues, including students, who find their path after talking with him. “With my experience as a predecessor and my broad connections, younger members always seek me out for opportunities to meet business partners. Directly or indirectly, I always find a way to help them achieve their goals,” he said.

Nguyễn Tuấn Quỳnh has a very clear philosophy of life: “Live in the active voice, in an objective manner, in the present tense, in the first person, and use the verb love.” It sounds like a poet’s philosophy, but when meeting Nguyễn Tuấn Quỳnh, we sense the sincerity he shows toward his friends and colleagues.

Lessons about the team

Nguyễn Tuấn Quỳnh's plan for an early departure is not a withdrawal from business life. He said he wants to focus his expertise on management and consulting, because younger colleagues around him want to contribute and need guidance to do so.

“To fulfill my wish to help and share experience with younger colleagues, I need more time to accumulate knowledge and energy, to read and learn. For me, reading and research are essential to verify whether what I think is right or wrong. Recently I have been caught up in too much work to carry out these plans,” Quỳnh said candidly.

For Nguyễn Tuấn Quỳnh, a good team is the most important key to business success, rather than a good business idea as many people believe. He says that without a compatible, united team that works together as friends, even a good idea is hard to implement and may even be lost, because competitors can always find ways to divide a team that lacks unity.

“I am very easygoing and gentle, and I am afraid of upsetting people. This tendency to be overly accommodating has caused me to fail in some cases even when I had anticipated the outcome—for example, investing with friends because I did not want to disappoint them. But it also showed me that I needed to be more direct, because in many situations there is no better basis for cooperation than candor,” Mr. Quỳnh shared.

He also confided sincerely: “I only realized that prioritizing harmony is appropriate in many situations after my hair had turned gray.”

Drawing on his experience, Quỳnh says 3 elements create success: passion, a good teacher and rigorous practice.

We would very much like to reiterate his view of a good teacher: not necessarily someone more capable than us, but someone willing to share so that we can recognize our weaknesses, overcome them, and improve. “I have had 3 great teachers in my life: my mother; my former boss, who taught me to accept relative fairness; and, most recently, my boss at PNJ, who has always been straightforward and sincere…,” he shared candidly.

Anyone who meets this entrepreneur can clearly feel his desire to contribute and share. These seem to be the precious qualities behind the Nguyễn Tuấn Quỳnh brand.

Bửu Hà – Hải Long  (baodautu.vn)