Lunch in Bangkok this week with Commendatore Enzo Peroni at his restaurant Café Buongiorno was much more than an enjoyable meal. It was a chance to spend several hours with someone whose career has been interwoven with Asia’s transformation for five decades.
After moving to Asia in 1977, Peroni became one of the youngest chief executives of a multinational in Hong Kong. During the early years of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, he helped more than a hundred Italian engineering and manufacturing companies establish business relationships in China making him one of the earliest European business figures to recognise the significance of China’s Open Door policy. Many in Thailand now know him through his ownership of Café Buongiorno.
He has also lectured and presented extensively on leadership, management and motivation emphasising the great importance of humility, respect for different cultures, optimism and an ability to make others feel valued.
As the conversation developed, I found myself reflecting on the early years of my own career. I worked for a number of very different bosses. Some inspired extraordinary commitment. Under them, one wanted to contribute, work much harder than expected and see the organisation succeed. Later, when one became the boss, these were the examples you tried to emulate.
Others produced the opposite reaction. People became cautious, withheld initiative and did little beyond what was required. Looking back, the problem was rarely technical incompetence. It was deficiencies of character: excessive ego, insecurity, hollow self-importance and an inability to bring out the best in others.
Asia and the Middle East have always rewarded those who build relationships before transactions and trust before contracts. Enzo Peroni’s career is a reminder that as businesses and economies evolve, reputation and the ability to bring out the best in others remain enduring competitive advantages.
