In honor of TGIF, I thought I’d pass on the story of a man who dreamed as a child, translated that dream into a vision as a man, and then acted on it.

The man is Malaysian Tony Fernandes and his childhood dream was to own an airline—but as a man he couldn’t get a license. By the time he was 37 he was Warner Music’s top executive in Southeast Asia, but he quit cold, mortgaged his home and tapped out his life savings to follow his dream by buying a bankrupt airline for 26 cents and $11 million in debt, then turned the company around in less than a year.

“Most people thought I was crazy,” says Mr. Fernandes. “When we started, they said it wouldn’t work. They said we would die.”

Far from dying, “Air Asia is now an international carrier world-renowned for revolutionizing Southeast Asian air travel as Asia’s first budget carrier. Its no-frills business model has spawned copycats among Southeast Asian airlines offering low-cost fares and forced Asian skies open.”

Mr. Fernandes had passion and a vision, “When I look back, it does sound kind of unbelievable… But I just felt that it was the right thing to do and nothing was going stop me,”

And he makes it a point to hire those who share it, “Mr. Fernandes was standing in line at the Singapore International Airport when a young student told him, “I’d love to work for you.” After a chat, he sensed that the boy has talent, and that “he was going to be a superstar.” A few minutes past the passport check counter, he signed up the student. “Now he runs our Singapore office,” he tells CNN in a recent interview. “I look for ability and passion.””

But it’s the culture he built that stands out and is the basis of his success, “Air Asia’s head office is not in a tall glass tower but right at the airport – and for a reason. “We have to remain humble. We have to remember our roots. Too many companies forget their beginnings and that is where it all goes wrong,” the CEO says. Air Asia has “a family environment, an open culture, with no hierarchy.” No one, regardless of their pay scale, would hesitate to carry bags, clean the planes, or even email the CEO directly. “People are allowed to think. I believe a thousand brains are better than just ten,” he says.”

Here are a few of my favorite Tony Fernandes comments,

“Life is about risks, life is about not being afraid to fail.”

“Well, I think one is that everyone plays a part. There is no hierarchy. Everyone is valuable.”

“I look at people who have ability, who have drive, who have passion.”

“What keeps us different is the people, is the culture.”

“I want, I really want to be seen as a great company, corporate governance. I want to show the world that Malaysia can have a great company, and I want to be remembered for being a great place to work at.”

Now, Tony Fernandes is lauded as a brilliant leader, as opposed to the original consensus that he was a nut.

More proof that it is public opinion that confers the title of leader.

Read the full CNN interview and the inquirer.net article.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 1:14 pm and is filed under About Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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