Alvin Ng's story

Realizing how businesses can benefit from cross-sector collaborations in an increasingly global world

Partnerships between private, public and not-for-profit sectors are becoming more and more critical in our globalized world. Surprisingly, each sector does not entirely comprehend that it takes the collective to make any real impact in society. It takes a bottom-up approach, rather than a top-down one, to help produce a change in perspective.

Looking through different leadership lens

In my day to day work life, I drive a lot of commercial activities and businesses for the company. You don’t get much chance to look at leadership through any other lens in this setting. The ASEAN Leaders Programme brought together senior leaders from across the region and from across different sectors. What this allowed was the opportunity to look at leadership through different lenses because of the close interactions and connections with other participants.

This ability to view leadership this way was, to me, a most powerful experience.

Viewing each sector as part of an ecosystem

At GE Digital, when we decide to start doing business in a new country, we encounter different sets of challenges and barriers – especially in adapting to new cultures, people and politics. As a multi-national organization, it is necessary that we are cognizant of the nuances of each culture, that we develop a deep understanding of their government, people and what builds the community.

In essence, GE Digital needed to have Cultural Intelligence.

From the programme, I gained high degree of respect and appreciation for the different sectors. It gave me that lens to view them as essential partners if we are to expand in the region. It was then I realized that other sectors are becoming more integrated, thereby more important, to the business world.

Gaining this perspective – realizing the value of all sectors – helped to lessen the barrier as we enter into a new market. The result is that we accelerated the value that we bring to the community as an organization.

I believe in how Common Purpose looks at the world – it is devoted to helping leaders transform the disconnected nature of the world into a collective ecosystem. In this ecosystem, public, not-for-profit and private sectors work together to address and meet the challenges they're facing. Only when these leaders cross boundaries and sectors do they solve interconnected problems and produce real change.