Take on tough assignments. The best advice to young graduates is to seek out challenging tasks. Professional growth comes from taking risks and making mistakes. Overcoming errors is an important process of learning. It is important to reject the fear of losing face by asking a question or stating an opinion to a superior or in a group. The employee or manager who speaks out and takes on tough assignments is on the fast track to success. Particularly productive is to take positions that involve overseas travel and residence, so as to learn firsthand about other societies, languages and cultures.
Set high standards. Work ethics and honesty genuinely matter. Just as Taiwan moves toward improved standards of corporate governance, companies are also demanding higher standards of performance from their employees. A good work ethic doesn't mean merely a willingness to put in long hours -- it means working to the best of one's ability, aiming for zero defects and continuously seeking to heighten one's skills and performance through additional training and better teamwork.
Excellent organizations have value statements that are taken seriously; they expect their employees to measure up. If one loses a position for malfeasance of some sort, the stigma is difficult indeed to erase.
This isn't an exhaustive list of what is needed for an international mindset, but these items are fair indications of the challenges ahead for those entering the work force -- and for those responsible for guiding the education and development of Taiwan's future leaders.
Richard Vuylsteke is executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei. This article was reprinted from the February 2006 issue of Taiwan Business TOPICS magazine.
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