Turning crises into opportunities — Dinner with Alfred Chan, Managing Director of The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited

Sometimes the most meaningful and inspiring conversations happen over casual meals. The Time Auction Blog is a snippet of our meetings with people who have found passion in their life and career, where we get a glimpse into their mentality behind their ventures.

As the Managing Director of the iconic public utility company, Towngas, Alfred has fostered the expansion of the firm. Since taking over in 1997, he has helped the company build over 240 business establishments in Mainland China, with projects ranging from city gas, renewable energy, telecommunications and more!

With his extensive work history from various disciplines, including engineering, marketing and customer service, Alfred contributes his wealth of knowledge to the continued growth of this multi-discipline, regional conglomerate in Asia. With this kind of work ethic, it is no wonder he was awarded with a number of awards and accolades in the past couple of decades.

Over dinner, Alfred shared with us how he deals with stress, and how he balances his personal life and career.

What’s your management principle?

When managing such a big company, you need to have a bit of happy-go-lucky personality, or else you won’t be able to push through the most stressful times.

Other than that, the ability to stay cool-headed during a crisis is crucial. When accidents involving the company occur, I have to face the media and the public. How do I handle all the pressure?

I transform the crisis into an opportunity.

The inevitable media coverage is overwhelming. But the way I see it, it is a chance for me to boost the image of our company. Nothing can change the fact that an accident has happened. What we can do though, is do our best to prevent similar hazards from happening again. After all, it is how the company handles the situation that matters. It is a way to prove ourselves to the public. When the public sees that we have paid our effort, their confidence in our team will also increase!

Is there a habit that significantly improved your life?

Only through reading can you obtain extensive knowledge.

I don’t particularly read management books. I believe for management, it’s about application rather than reading from the textbooks. Management doesn’t have a rule as such, it’s a skill obtained. Journals about history and art give me great pleasure, as the knowledge absorbed could be applied to my job.

I have to say people nowadays are not reading enough. Back when I was a student, my teacher forced us to read. We had to present our book report before the whole class. Despite it being quite harsh, it allowed me to gather insights on various topics, which ignited my passion towards reading. And it still affects me to this day.

If there’s a lesson unrelated to your profession, what would you teach?

Philosophy. It helps you unwind and gives you a new perspective, by pondering about life and our relationship with the surroundings. We often stress or get frustrated over the tiniest matters. However, when we get to think about those troubles on the scale of our universe, we realize our problems are barely of any significance! It lets go of your worries!

What is an action you want us to take away from meeting you tonight?

Everyone should bear a dream.

Ask yourself, what do you want to do in 5 years?

This is an important question, especially for university students. Graduation is going to happen sooner or later.

When I conduct interviews, one question that I always ask is “Which position do you aim for in this company?” In my opinion, the best answer is, “ I want to be the Managing Director.” Because why not? I like ambitious people, they’re ready for challenges. If you really want it, then you should strive for it. There is no reason to give up!

Thank you Alfred for donating dinner and raising 150 volunteer hours to HandsOn Hong Kong, Scout Association of Hong Kong, HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre and more!

These awesome photos are brought to you by Sham from KaChick — a marketplace where you can book a photographer anywhere, anytime, for anything!

For more amazing opportunities, visit Time Auction to volunteer and meet inspiring mentors!