Leading on the Frontline

11Just ask

How my determination to escalate aid pushed me through the anxiety of asking for help in post-tsunami Thailand

There was something worrying me: me. The truth is, I simply wasn’t qualified to provide all the business advice these tsunami survivors needed. And there was no one in the local area I could call in.

One morning, as I doodled on my notepad, hoping for inspiration, an idea came to me: ‘There is an abundance of creative business brains sitting in Bangkok — company executives who spend their days putting together solutions to challenging problems.’

Fired up now, I started to make notes, writing quickly. It was clear to me that many of the survivors of the Asian Tsunami would need to become entrepreneurs if they were to avoid a bleak future. Although most had no previous commercial experience, no opportunity to acquire business skills and no access to loans, they did have a few key entrepreneurial qualities — among them, courage and determination, and an overriding hunger to pick themselves back up.

I needed to prepare a compelling business case for the business community in Bangkok and my possible backer, the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF). I could then work with the companies in Bangkok to identify opportunities for new income-generating ventures. Once we had selected those with the most potential, we could develop a simple business strategy for each new entrepreneur.

But I knew something was missing. An idea was hovering at the edge ...