In the role of Vice Chairman of VPBA, Chairman of Halcom VN Jsc. – a company in the top of sustainable development enterprises, I have shared a lot about the inevitable relationship between enterprises and the Sustainable Development.

In my opinion, firstly, if enterprises want to develop sustainably, they must develop at the same pace with the general development of the country and the society. The interests of business must coincide with the interests of society and all stakeholders. Mutual benefit is a prerequisite for sustainable development. Therefore, in the process of development, enterprises must not harm environmental and social factors, not harm the community and respect interests of both partners and competitors. Competition means constantly innovating to lead, in another word, competing to develop together to occupy the leading position, not competing head-to-head to destroy competitors.

A sustainable development enterprise must have a clear business philosophy. It must be able to answer business questions for what to do and how to do it. When there is a business philosophy, enterprises will be aware of their mission, that is, their responsibility to the community and society. This is the initial foundation to form a enterprise culture and move towards a sustainable business.

In addition, enterprises need to set a development strategy for each period to adapt to the changes of the external and internal environment within the enterprise. There could be a long-term strategy for 10 years, but it is also possible to create shorter, more flexible strategies, about 3-5 years, depending on the business environment, the field of operation or the fluctuations of each period. For a 10-year strategy, it is necessary to have short and medium-term plans and can be evaluated to adjust the annual strategy to adapt to the new condition.

Business strategies or plans should base on the value chain of the company. The stages in the value chain must cover all activities of the enterprise and the organizational chart of the enterprise must indicate which part of it is in charge of which stage in that value chain.

For example, prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, if there was a stage in the value chain of the enterprise that was heavily dependent on foreign factors, then during the pandemic, its necessary to adjust to exploit the domestic resources. While restructuring the value chains, it may be necessary to restructure human factors, including the shift or change of the positions of managers.

When COVID-19 occurs, the phrase “find opportunities in risks” is mentioned a lot, however, very few enterprises that have overcome the difficulty to rise until now. In those few enterprises, only a small amount of them manage to take the opportunity from the sudden demand of the market to increase revenue significantly, and most of the enterprises overcoming the storm are from a foundation built according to sustainable development. Just like previous times of overcoming difficulty, the enterprise has created the own antibodies.

Even with a clear business philosophy, it is not easy for enterprises to grow sustainably. Development has been difficult but sustainable development is even more difficult. I really like the 3+3+3+1 formula. That means for the first 3 years, enterprises have to find ways to penetrate the market and deploy ideas; in the next 3 years, it is time to consolidate, stand firm and assert itself with its philosophy and business style; the next 3 years are the sublimation on the path chosen. By the 10th year, the growth slows down, the enterprises reach a threshold and need restructuring to break the bottleneck.

Of course, the above numbers are just symbols that help us to have a concept of each stage in the first 10 years of the business, which is not exactly the case and is not universal. It is only generalized for entrepreneurs, especially young people, to look ahead to difficulties in business and get ready to face to find ways to overcome. Without preparation, many enterprises may not make it through the first 3 years and may have to close or change their business.

A sustainable enterprise must have a foundation of business philosophy and core values, thereby creating a corporate culture. Corporate culture is the outward expression of how an enterprise operates in the business process. It may adapt to the external environment from time to time, but it does not slip away from the foundation of the business philosophy and core values ​​of the enterprise. The business philosophy and core values ​​of an enterprise are immutable, whether an enterprise expands or changes its business lines or sectors.

I think that Vietnamese enterprises are like diamonds, so it is difficult for them to stick together. Big enterprises need to bring into play the role of helping small enterprises, along with promoting the role of associations to connect the SME community, one chain for themselves. Enterprises themselves also need to focus on improving the knowledge in business field. Enterprises need to be managed in a scientific way, with social responsibility and a clear strategy. Thus, the business community will develop sustainably, help start-ups lessen hardship and this is also a way to improve the level of Vietnamese entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs to be not only RICH but also LUXURIOUS, for enterprises to be strong enough in an integrated, multi-dimensional and competitive world. This is also a way to save resources for the business community and for the whole economy, when the number of Vietnamese SMEs accounts for 98% of the total number of enterprises in the country.

Q: Halcom VN Jsc. is a top sustainable development enterprise with almost 20 years of experience in many fields. The company has just completed the construction of the trillion-billion Phuong Mai 3 Wind Power Plant project, and is now conducting Hau Giang Solar Power Plant project on the strategic orientation of focusing on clean energy development. How has Halcom VN Jsc. built the foundation for sustainable development, and especially how to adapt and overcome the COVID-19 pandemic?

Mr. Nguyen Quang Huan (A):  After about 3 years of establishment, the business ideas of the founding members of Halcom Vietnam JSC. have gradually concretely shaped into the business philosophy “Profits should not be pursued by all means”.

We understand that to develop sustainably, the interests of the business cannot conflict with the social interests or the interests of partners. Therefore, we are determined not to do works that benefit to the enterprise but do harm to the community or cause bad effects to partners. These are “impure benefits” that we never “hunt” for. After the enterprise has been stable, it is necessary to study specifically what the core values of the enterprise are to succeed. Two immutable factors that are business philosophy and core values, plus a customized one is the business strategy adapting to each period are the tool that helps Halcom VN Jsc. survive and grow for nearly 20 years.

During COVID 19 pandemic, the sustainable adaptation of Halcom VN Jsc. has been maximized. It is the adjustment of planning, restructuring and strengthening internal training to be ready to adapt to the new era.

Particularly, the company have studied domestic partner enterprises more closely, signed strategic cooperation with a number of large and reputable enterprises. Along with that, we also expand international strategic partnerships to many different countries without focusing too much on one country. Online meetings or seminars are often used. Localization options for the production of specialty products began to be taken into account. Longer term plans for imported equipment or hiring foreign experts should also be considered cautiously.

Fortunately, Halcom VN Jsc. has is the certain priority of a number of foreign partners in the supply of imported equipment during COVID-19. It also comes partly from the reputation that the Company has previously established with partners and customers. That is also an important factor for sustainable development.

Personally, I always orient the staff and employees that if an enterprise wants to be strong, it must determine its own direction, find a specific perspective associated with the worldview and find an adaptive operating mechanism. We develop with the general development of the times, do not develop on our own. That is also the spirit of our slogan – “Rising with a new era”.

Writer: Minh Hoa, Vietnam Business magazine (in Vietnamese)