Alcon’s Post

As we step into the new year, let's talk about the power of setting goals and New Year's resolutions for personal and professional growth, inspired by AstraZeneca Malaysia's commitment to innovation and excellence! Goal Setting involves defining specific, measurable, and time-bound objectives, which can be applied to New Year's Resolution Setting, where individuals make informal commitments at the start of a new year to improve themselves, such as adopting healthier habits or learning new skills. Setting clear goals gives us direction and focus, whether we're rocking our personal lives or climbing the career ladder, much like how AstraZeneca navigates its path toward groundbreaking advancements in Malaysia. They help us track progress, boost confidence, and celebrate those awesome achievements! New Year's resolutions are like hitting the refresh button—perfect for reflecting and setting intentions for positive change. From embracing healthier habits to mastering new skills, these commitments supercharge our productivity and purpose. Let’s set some goals and resolutions using the SMART format: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Whether you’re aiming for a new role, learning new skills, or expanding your network, SMART goals provide a clear roadmap to success. They help keep you focused, motivated, and on track to land your dream job. What SMART goals are you setting for your career this year? Check out the pic below for a splash of inspiration! #SMARTGoals #AstraZenecaMalaysia #AstraZeneca #CareerSuccess #NewYearsResolutions #GoalsSettings

Inclusion, Diversity & Equity (ID & E) are essential components of our Medtronic mission. We are honoring our admirable goal of fostering Medtronic's best joint accomplishments throughout ID & E Fiesta Week. Our theme for this year is Let’s Collaborate and the Culture Connections Challenge is where we aim to bring our diverse cultures together!   The picture's story : Originating from China, rice vermicelli is a famous dish in Asia and is known by its cognates, the Hokkien 米粉 (bí-hún). We refer to it as bihun in Indonesia. Bihun goreng, or fried bihun, is a delicious Chinese Indonesian dish that my kids adore when Indonesian spices are added.   They enjoy playing congklak together as well. Played in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, and Southern Thailand, Congklak is a Malay mancala game. In Indonesia, this game is very well-known.   This is an example of how cultures collaborations may work together to create and add color to our lives.   #Let'sCollaborate #Collaboration #Cultureconnections #Letourcultureshine #OneforAll #IDEFiestaWeek #AsiaRLM #MedtronicEmployee #IDEAwareness #Inclusion #Diversity #Equity #IDE   Tagging and inviting other colleagues to join this challenge Roshni Nunes Utkarsh Handa Yvonne Sim Anna Medina Serene Kee Ming Hui (Adeline) Tan Gerardo Roldan III

Embracing Cultural Diversity in #PhilipMorrisInternational: A Journey Beyond Multiculturalism. I am beyond thrilled to share the success of our recent Employee Resource Group (ERG) #EMBRACEItalia event in Philip Morris Manufacturing&Technology Bologna Italy. This event would not have been possible without our steering committee members which I would like to thank personally: Daniele Boanini Alessandra A. Elisabeth Jo Altruda Elisa Vellucci who have successfully led this event. As a member of this group I would like to share that Embrace's objective is to raise awareness on multiculturality, provide a sense a belonging to our employees and also give space to everyone to voice their #uniqueness. ERGs are voluntary employee-led groups, hence, everything stems from the members who go above and beyond their daily tasks to make ERGs an effective reality. Our cultural menu for the event included: - Exploring the nuances between multicultural, cross-cultural, and intercultural approaches - A hands-on exercise inspired by Dr. Erin Meyer's enlightening book, "The Culture Map" - Diving into the curious ways nationalities shape our behaviors Some highlights from our journey: - We compared greetings in France and Japan (Kissing vs. Bowing) - We uncovered how some cultures shift from direct to indirect communication when the message turns negative - We ventured beyond buzzwords, discussing intersectionality and its impact on cross-border experiences. #EMBRACEItalia isn't just about avoiding missteps - it's about opening our minds to the world's cultural richness. By embracing diversity, we unlock endless learning opportunities. Proud to be part #PhilipMorrisInternational, proud to be part of #EMBRACEItalia team. Amazing thanks and well done to the team and to Rudra Chakraborty to let the audience enjoy the delicious menu.

[Seed of Career] - Seed 7: The Best Workplaces When looking around these best workplaces in Vietnam in 2024, there're overall trends in company's strategic management system which employees found that their company is the great place for them to work: "1. Management integrity: employees’ experiences and observations around management’s actions matching their words and delivering on their promises. 2. Fair treatment and equal opportunities: fair and impartial decision making, equitable opportunities for recognition and promotions, and providing fair recourse for unfair treatment 3. Effective communication, collaboration and staff engagement: intentional efforts to clarify expectations, giving straight answers to questions asked, genuinely seeking and responding to employee feedback and ideas, and involving employees in decision making. 4. Demonstrating support: showing appreciation for employees’ contributions and extra effort, as well as celebrating their efforts to try new and better ways of doing things ... Fashion Garments Ltd. upholds the principle of “We listen, we care,” recognizing the invaluable role of feedback in fostering a culture of continuous improvement and employee engagement. It makes a point of responding to employee feedback promptly and transparently, with a view to making improvements and meeting the needs of their employees. With around 11,000 employees across six locations in Vietnam, this is no small feat. Feedback is collected through regular engagement platforms including surveys, focus group interviews, townhalls, employee forums, as well as a variety of digital platforms. This ensures that employees have a variety of opportunities and platforms to share their input and perspectives, and caters to a range of diverse communication preferences. This feedback is then promptly acknowledged and publicly addressed to foster a culture of transparency and accountability. Important feedback and responses are also posted on announcement boards for easy access to all employees. In addition to written communication, feedback and responses are also broadcast via a sound system to reach employees across different areas of the workplace." (Cited from "Great is Possible: Best Workplaces™ in Vietnam Lead the Way" article - Author: Pamela SNG, Ha Minh Chau, Isabelle Tan). As the member of Hirdaramani Vietnam - Fashion Garments Limited, I recognized how these following values are being run across our management structure. In the top of the Best Workplaces in Vietnam 2024 is one step, next & significant steps are in the heart of every employees. Let us look further & continue focusing on the main factor of our development - FGL's employees. #SeedofCareer #TheBestWorkPlaces #HirdaramaniVietnam_FashionGarmentsLimited

We often read about and are inspired by unique leadership achievements, organizational excellence, and flawless operational execution. All things to strive for, but not always the reality. Life in business, as in general, is not paved with easy solutions and one recipe for success. Hard choices are often required, dilemmas constantly surfacing, and difficult conversations necessary. So, despite all good intentions, with investment in strategic plans and strong organizational support, positive outcomes are not guaranteed and do not come without sacrifices. Six months ago, I took over as the head of our newly established service center in Mexico City. A truly exciting challenge to support further globalization and sustainable growth of Novo Nordisk. It offers endless opportunities to drive operational excellence, talent development, and global business integration. Today we are more than 100 employees, with great energy and high ambitions. But I cannot claim that we got here without challenges. Starting a new business is not a simple effort, even in a company that recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Many things were implemented too fast, too fragile and without full understanding of the context. Perhaps we didn’t ask a simple question often enough— “are we ready to move to the next stage”? Ultimately, we found a need to hit pause and revisit the basics, to build a foundation that can support long-term success. Revisiting the basics led to changes, some of which negatively impacted internal and external first-movers. While this is regrettable, we also need to recognize that sub-optimal decisions do not age well. Mistakes are painful, but learnings are precious, especially when rooted in collaboration, patience, understanding, and transparency. On the back of this, I’d be remiss to not recognize all who have contributed to this project, from our first employees to our first internal customers. This is what encourages me most – our people. To do what we do, we rely on the talent, passion, and diversity of our employees. We depend on the multitude of personal experiences, perspective, and backgrounds, that show up to work every day. In the end, I am very encouraged about our future and believe that together we will create something lasting and meaningful. Something that contributes to Novo Nordisk driving change to defeat serious chronic diseases. And I hope many more people will join us on this endeavor. From personal experience, I can attest that Novo Nordisk offers life-changing opportunities, within and through the organization. Our Mexico City service center is here to stay, and we look forward to the next chapter of the project, to be written by our wonderful team, rooted in our strong company values.

Had an incredible experience at the Future of Work APAC Conference in Singapore last week! This event was refreshing and an eye-opener, emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining an external orientation in our professional journeys.   In my 13 years with the same organization, I've grown tremendously, thanks to a strong internal orientation. Having taken on 6 roles across three countries, I’ve seen firsthand how internal opportunities foster deep understanding and expertise. Now, I feel more inspired to blend this with an external perspective to drive innovation and growth within Schindler. My reflections on importance of External Orientation: - Industry Insights: Staying updated on trends and innovations across industries fuels creativity and strategic thinking. - Continuous Learning: Constantly expanding our knowledge base through networking and learning opportunities keeps us adaptable and future-ready. - Competitive Edge: Understanding what's happening beyond our immediate environment helps us anticipate changes and stay ahead of the curve. - Enhanced Collaboration: Building a diverse network fosters collaboration and opens doors to new partnerships and ideas. #FutureOfWork #ExternalOrientation #ContinuousLearning #Networking #Innovation #CareerGrowth #Schindler

🎄🎁 Bringing it home strong for 2024 & adding some extra holiday 🎅 cheer, it gives me great pleasure to introduce Yuko Kidoguchi Otsuki as the newest member in the #50lunches50leaders club 🎁🎄. A pharmaceutical 💊 industry giant in the world of public policy, advocacy, market access & public relations, her 2️⃣5️⃣+ year contribution to healthcare in Japan is unquestionable. A published author 🖊️, strong advocate for women's health & youth projects as well as chairperson for several trade association groups, I was fortunate enough to find a gap in her busy schedule 🗓️ (fresh from a business trip to Zurich 🇨🇭) to sit down & better understand her impressive career journey. Getting her start in Osaka at AstraZeneca, she initially worked in clinical development (oncology) before soon transferring 🚅 to a Tokyo-based role in pricing & external affairs, which has been her 'backyard' ever since. After 7 years, she then took on a new challenge 💪 with Baxter International Inc. Remaining for close to 8️⃣ years as Manager, Corporate Communications, this is where she really found her feet 👣 in the areas of public communications & media relations. Bayer came knocking next & with it, a 10 year tenure climbing 🪜 from Manager ➡️ Head ➡️ Operating Officer. Covering a wide range of functions including advocacy & patient access, market access, policy development, communications and public affairs & sustainability, she was a critical ⚡ player in what was arguably the high-water 🌊 mark for Bayer in the Japan market. Her most recent change has been a return to her first home, AstraZeneca, where for the past 15 months she has been VP, Head of Corporate Affairs. "As a huge part of my career has been focused on stakeholder engagement, it's only natural my leadership style has a similar flavor 🍦 in the sense I always seek out a lot of people for advice 🗣️. It's impossible to find solutions by oneself, so tapping into the great talent 🚀 around you & leveraging that collective know-how, plays a key part in how I lead. I also place a big emphasis in putting full trust 🤗 in my team members, all I ask is they are clear with their communication & take ownership. This kind of accountability starts with me & I feel it then trickles 🚰 down, kind of like passing the baton 🏃♀️ on to my next line & then so on...it starts a kind of cycle 🔁 on how the whole team works/operates. Finally, I was fortunate enough to have 2 key 🗝️ mentors early in my development & their support 🙏 cannot be underestimated. I was always in admiration of how they held such senior roles at the top ⛰️, yet always seemed to know exactly what was happening on the ground level. I put a lot of this down to 🟢 approachability & always learning to listen first." Thanks so much Yuko for being the final #50lunches50leaders guest for 2024 & wishing you great success 🎆 for the future! 👍👍 #lunchandlearn #leadership #leaderscreateleaders #mindset #inspire #effectivecommunication #healthcare

The Great Place to Work (GPTW) Institute announced the "Türkiye's Best Employers™ 2024 - Great Place to Work List" for the 12th time in Türkiye. Chiesi Türkiye has been honored with the "Best Employers in Türkiye" award among the companies evaluated by Great Place to Work® for the 2023-24 period. The company also earned Special Awards in the areas of "Diversity and Inclusion" and "Employee Wellbeing" for its exemplary practices. Emre Kara, General Manager of Chiesi Türkiye, expressed his feelings about these achievements as follows: "This success is a testament to the contributions of our collaborative team, based on our values of 'Each of us is different, each of us is Chiesi.' It reflects our commitment to our company culture. In the future, we will continue to improve our employee experience and contribute even more to our society. As Chiesi Türkiye, we dedicate this success to all our employees and stakeholders." #Diversity #Inclusivity #EmployeeWellbeing #GreatPlacetoWork #GPTW #ChiesiTürkiye #Chiesi

🌟🚀 Ok folks, buckle up as we step on the gas ⛽ and start our second run at the #50lunches50leaders series! 🌟🚀   Our lead-off hitter ⚾, who I was fortunate to lock down whilst on a Tokyo business trip, is Atsushi Ogawa.    After graduating 🎓 from Kyoto University (M.Sc.), Ogawa-san commenced his career at Takeda.   For close to a decade, he started out in global 🌏 clinical development, mainly focusing on their blockbuster ⚡ assets at that time.   The next dozen years saw him based in the 🇺🇸 US office (Deerfield, Illinois for 5 years), the 🇬🇧 UK office (London for 2 years), as well as a couple of years back at their 🇯🇵 Osaka HQ.  During which time he also returned to Kyoto University to earn his Ph.D in Public Health 🏫.    Covering a wide variety of roles including Project Manager, Japan Development Associate Director, VP of Portfolio and R&D Planning, before finally, 🇪🇺 European Site Head, overseeing 300 members.   Upon his return to 🌸 Japan, Ogawa-san took on the President role at Takeda PRA Development Center KK for a couple of years before the acquisition by ICON plc.    He had remained on as Japan General Manager at ICON plc and now oversees a headcount of 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣➕.    "If I could go back & offer advice 🤔 to my younger self, I would simply say to be BOLD 🧗♂️ & think BIG 🦖!   By nature, Japanese people are traditionally conservative & it's easy to fall into this mindset 💭.   Having experienced a few global ✈ assignments & witnessing firsthand young colleagues rapidly scale their careers, I'd definitely encourage 👏 early stage career professionals in Japan to not just wait around.     Instead, be visible/vocal, take initiative, accept new challenges 💪 and don't limit yourself!"   It'd be hard to find a more down-to-earth, seasoned pharma executive in the industry, than Ogawa-san. On top of that, the patience he showed watching me make a complete mess of my pulled pork sandwich 🥪 whilst taking notes, was also first class 🙇♂️.     Many thanks for sharing your time, wise 🦉 words & helping me launch the second installment of the #50lunches50leaders series Ogawa-san.   Wishing you great success for the future! 👍👍 #50lunches50leaders #lunchandlearn #leader #leadershipdevelopment #leaderscreateleaders #effectivecommunication #mindset #inspire #motivate #pharmaceutical #healthcare #greatsuccess

Fridays without meetings? 😮 It may sound strange or unconventional, but many companies start to dedicated time for focused, deep work and personal development. For instance, our colleagues in Informatics in Roche Malaysia have implemented Focus Friday, transforming the second half of the day into an opportunity for deep work, completing development activities or working on creative projects. Similarly at Roche in Belgium & Luxembourg our colleagues introduced Oxygen Friday, providing everyone with the right to disconnect and focus on priorities. This approach not only allows individuals to concentrate on meaningful tasks, enhance creativity, fosters personal growth but also helps to build better work-life balance. It is very needed and appreciated. I'm curious to hear from you - does your company have a similar approach? Do you have a space for that? Would this approach brought benefit for you? What do you think? #FocusFriday #NewWaysOfWork #Deepwork #TransformingWorkPlace #WorkLifeBalance