Reflections of an Entrepreneur

Author: R. Palan

Publisher: UM Press

ISBN: 9789674881696

Weight:

Pages: 198pp

Year: 2021

Price: RM39

There is a saying that life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward. Numerous crystal ball gazers and futurists tend to predict what the future of the world will look like yet, for those who aspire to achieve their goals, there is a need for each one to reflect, pause and act to sustain their entrepreneurial journeys.

Palan’s collection of 25 short essays on five key areas such as Education, Work, Entrepreneurship, Politics and Life experiences aim to provide a sharp and thoughtful perspective for everyone wanting to chart, survive, prosper and sustain their journey in this highly unpredictable and competitive world.

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Ananth Raman

UPS Foundation Professor

Harvard Business School

USA

Reflections of an Entrepreneur is insightful and fun. Dr. Palan draws upon incidents from his personal and professional experience, and weaves it together with research on a wide range of topics in this lovely collection of essays.

The book will make you think more deeply about a number of topics, including the future of work, AI, the future of education, crisis management, identity politics and hero worship in our societies.

Read this book if you are, or aspire to be, a leader in business or of course, an entrepreneur. Even better, discuss the chapters that resonate most with one or more close friends, ideally someone who disagrees with you on some of these issues. The founding dean of the Harvard Business School said, “The purpose of business is to make a decent profit decently. This book will help you do that”.

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Associate Professor

Dr Annette Foley

School of Education

Federation University

Australia

Entrepreneurs should be lifelong learners and more importantly, they should step out of the boundaries of business development and profit making to consider social, political and educational endeavours.

Palan goes beyond the narrow definition of entrepreneurship. He inclines to observe social issues that impact entrepreneurship. His reflections provide a glance into contemporary issues that everyone should consider.

Palan draws on practical examples that allows the book to be applicable to many, making it special and very interesting read.

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Thakur S Powdyel

Former Minister of Education

Royal Government of Bhutan

This book had to be written, by all means. It has to be read, by all means. The thematic areas that Dr Palan explores couldn’t be more deceptive: they give one the impression of a restless work-a-day world, but they are indeed veritable continents of inexhaustible treasures discovered by a global citizen gifted with a probing mind and a compassionate heart.

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The passionate belief anyone in their own little way can uplift and build inclusive societies defines Palan’s entrepreneurial journey. The author of 16 books, his journey as a social entrepreneur has been marked by his relentless, persistent, and continuing focus to build quality institutions powered by state-of-the-art technology.

A lifelong student, studying in different universities in different countries, he completed his second PhD (Education) with Federation University, Ballarat, Australia, and the Advanced Management Programme with the Harvard Business School.

Palan founded SMR (Specialist Management Resources) Group nearly four decades ago. He is the Chairman of SMRT Holdings Berhad and the Group Managing Director of Minda Global Berhad. Both companies are listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad.

Palan is a Member of the Board of Directors of University Malaya, Malaysia’s oldest University. He is also the Pro Chancellor of the University of Cyberjaya.

The family founded the Palan Foundation to support educational causes. Palan lives with his family in Cyberjaya, Malaysia.