The Dutch Vietnam

Management Supporter
Returning to Ho Chi Minh City
A more than happy client
Why does your client return to you for a next purchase? The answer
is clear: you have delivered a good product, and probably more than
that: you have provided fine service. By doing this, you have created a Hopstaken
positive image in your client’s mind. Services
As a visitor, or better: explorer, Vietnam has been offering me good International
products and fine service. After 18 months and four visits, it has
become my ‘home away from home’. I’m a more than happy client, 2nd year, no. 3
returning to HCMC to offer my products and services in return. October 20, 2008
November 9 will mark the start of my fifth, extended stay. After the
This magazine was started
July lectures at IBLA (see the previous Supporter), several companies in March 2007. In its first
and educational institutions have shown serious interest in my year, three editions were
published and distributed
services. among my business and
Ho Chi Minh City has become my new business address. private associates. Purpose:
to keep the reader informed
Courage and entrepreneurship about my effort to establish
a viable activity in Vietnam.
As for the current financial crisis, I believe this is a necessary
This amazingly attractive
correction in the world economy. Nations took out their crisis- and energetic country has
scenarios. It will take courage and entrepreneurship to survive, and to rapidly conquered my soul,
and become my home away
come out of the crisis as a sound company—stronger than ever. from home.
A sound investment: your people Loek Hopstaken
You cannot make it alone in this world, and the business world is no
exception. I am fortunate to have considerable help from several of
my former students, and from people they introduced me to. Their
sincere and tireless efforts have born fruit. I can’t be too grateful. Still, In this issue:
it’s a start; much to do, much to learn, much to organize. Yet, I’m a
prepared man: the new catalogue offers you an overview of my Returning to Ho Chi 1
Minh City -
services: products that are designed to further professionalize your True story 2
company. Which means: making it fit to survive any crisis, and ready
to pick the fruits as soon as they are ready for consumption. The true The Communicator 3

capital in your company isn’t money: it’s your people. Human capital. Matching East & West 4
Make sure you invest wisely: education is the key to making your
personnel more capable of doing their job. It also helps you to keep Matching West & East 5
them from moving to a next job before you get a return on your
Standing offer 6
investment in the hiring process. Let’s talk education—get in touch! Contact information

“Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is

Short cv Loek Hopsta- 7
demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others ken; appointment letter
that they know it just as well as you. You are all learners, doers,
teachers.” Next issue February 2009
Richard Bach
2nd year, no. 3 2

Hopstaken
The Dutch Vietnam Management
Ser vices Supporter
New: the 2008-2009 edition of the Hopstaken
Services Catalogue
‘Continuous improvement’ goes hand in hand with
‘continuous growth’. In this case, growth in number of
services. However, this is a conservative type of growth. In the
field of communication, organization and management it takes
time to acquire enough know-how to professionally cover a
topic. A new service is ‘The All Round Communicator’.
It combines existing know-how in 12 topics, all relating to
communication in a business environment. It is delivered in a
combination of a half day (or evening) seminar, followed by a
one day workshop (see page 3).
Searching for a situation and the solution Hopstaken offers,
has now been made easier. Many descriptions have been
updated, and made more ‘to-the-point’.
When you haven’t received a copy, just send an email to
loek.hopstaken@gmail.com, subject line: Catalogue. It will be
in your mailbox soon. Note: in a matter of weeks there will be
a new paperback-size, printed version of the catalogue.

True Story … from my client’s daily endeavor to be successful

Hiring & Firing
It’s not easy to hire a person, who is ‘fit for the job’. And it’s not easy to fire a person who’s NOT fit for
the job. The obvious solution: hire a person you don’t have to fire. Like so many things in life, it all starts
with the First Decision. This is: YES or NO. To hire or not to hire. One of my clients was impressed by a
job applicant’s cv + presentation. Or should I say, ‘charm’? As you will know, some applicants are very
good in ‘selling themselves’. The urgency to have a well paid job is more important than being straight and
honest. So when you ask: “Do you have any experience in _____?”, they’ll say “Yes!”. So, it’s not a good
question in selection interviews. One of my clients used this approach as a ‘workable system’. He ended
up with several personnel who may have had some experience, but not enough to do the job successfully.
Hiring
Selecting someone for a job is an investment. It’s somewhat similar to a purchase talk with a supplier. As
you will know, both suppliers and employees are registered in the same section of your financial admini-
stration: the creditor section. Apart from the character of the contract, the only difference between a sup-
plier and an employee is that your employee is ‘in house’. So when you hire someone, treat your job appli-
cant as a potential supplier. She/he is! If you need any help with selecting the right person, let me know.
Firing
The best moment to fire someone is in his/her probation period. Still, many organizations find it hard to
deal with this. How to know if this new employee—you spent time and energy in finding her/him—is the
RIGHT person? My advice: when you have made a mistake, repair it—fast. Fire. And search, find & hire
the RIGHT one. How to prevent a next mistake? What to learn from it? Right: call/mail Hopstaken: over
30 years of experience in selecting personnel on all organizational levels.

“Courage comes from wanting to do it well. Security comes from knowing you can do it well.
Confidence comes from having done it well.”
2nd year, no. 3 3
The Dutch Vietnam Management
Hopstaken
Ser vices Supporter

New: The All Round Communicator Program

The All Round Communicator™ Program (A.R.C.) is a combination of 12 seminars and 12 workshops.
When communication is a primary competence to be successful, this program offers the know-how and
skills. The usual delivery plan:
A. All Round Communicator Seminar (theory; 1900-2200 h.)
B. All Round Communicator Workshop (practical exercises (0930-1700 h.; lunch break 1200-1300 h.)
After successful completion of this program, the participant receives the certificate ‘All Round
Communicator’. Below are brief descriptions of the 12 A.R.C. topics.

1. Two Way Communication—balance in exchange; how to create, how to restore it.

2. Meta-communication—the real meaning behind the words, using non-verbal signs and
emotions.
3. Controlling Communication—when to let go, when to take control.
4. Commercial Communication—persuading prospects; building steady ‘win-win’ business
relationships.
5. Team Communication—leading by example, re-engineering, motivating.
6. Presentation Techniques—informing and persuading groups.
7. Conflict Management—prevention and handling of human conflict.
8. Negotiations—finding ways to get maximum gain, for both negotiators.
9. Selection Interviews—choosing the right person for the right place.
10. Intercultural Communication—productive cooperation across cultural borders.
11. Coaching Techniques—getting people to use their talents and regain confidence.
12. Formal/informal Communication—open communication ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom up’.
Depending on the need, other topics may be added. Examples:
 meetings (effectively and efficiently leading team communication)
 inspirational leadership (turning a group of busy ‘doers’ into confident achievers)
 hospitality & etiquette (manners in different environments)
 creative communication (brainstorming and instant-problem-solving techniques)
 closing techniques (making the sale a DONE, with contract signed, goods delivered, and bill paid).

Situation:
Too often too much time is spent
on repairing damage as a result of
mis-communication. They lack
enough communication know-how
and skills.
Solution:
The All Round Communicator™ Program:
participants whose major competence is
communication, upgrade and update their
communication know-how and skills in 12 seminars
& workshops.

How much does an All Round Communicator Program cost?

Your investment is US$ 1,500 per seminar + workshop (max. 8 participants).

“Communication is the key factor in success, in all areas of life. When you lack
communicative skills, you are bound to fail in all those areas, as not many people will agree to deal with a clumsy
communicator.”
2nd year, no. 3 4

Hopstaken The Dutch Vietnam Management

Ser vices Supporter

Matching East & West:

how our differences don’t make a difference
Is the world approaching a black hole?
The current financial crisis will ultimately have a positive effect on the world economy—East & West,
North & South. That is my belief. The ‘soap bubble’ in the stock market has blown, as if surplus air has
suddenly been released from an overheated steam engine. But as someone said, the exploding bubble
behaves more like a ‘black hole’. This crisis is a world crisis: we all face moments of truth. While there is
no certainty about the outcome, many lessons are being learned, or confirmed. For now, some confidence
has been restored. Let’s hope the measures taken by governments don’t result in a ‘dead cat’s jump’.
One lessons being learned & confirmed
As a government, don’t give complete free reign to the market. Although Asian countries are also hit by
the crisis, the damage is much less than for example in the USA or Europe. There should be a healthy
balance between the national interests and the business interests. The USA has abruptly lost its faith in
neo-liberalism and a totally free market, and tries to do what Asian countries have been doing all along:
keep a close eye on, and if needed, control the national economy. Where the West has been strongly
influencing the East, now this has turned around in a 180% switch in thinking and acting. Western
governments seized control of banks across the planet. And rightly: they failed to control themselves.
Is it ethical or legal?
An even more serious lesson deals with ethics. In my opinion, modern-day crime has modern guises:
sharply dressed, fast talking guys who buy and sell companies and destroy them in the process. The ugly
face of capitalism. The laws have not been updated to handle this, as laws always come years after the
need for them has been established. This has been going on for a few decades, since the Ronald Reagan
era and Milton Friedman’s economic doctrine. Although it did bring well-deserved fortune to many, some
grossly misused the economic freedom—and no one was there to stop them. Directors of bankrupt
companies were fired, and handed millions of US$ as a goodbye gift. To most people, this ‘feels like
crime’. Sure, it’s in their contract. Does this make it ethical? Legal, perhaps; ethical, no. Now, after the
damage is done, you and I pay the price for this mistake. In Asian countries, corruption is a serious matter
to deal with. It inhibits a sound development in many fields. Many Asian governments are involved in
long term projects to halt corruption. However, radically eradicating it on short notice would seriously
harm their economy. So the battle against corruption is an ongoing, step-by-step operation.
Sound future
To some extent, East & West are now in the same boat, handling many similar problems. Our supposed
differences are rapidly vanishing. Facing the same problem: an uncertain future—we better look at our
many similarities, and emphasize what we all agree about: the need for a sound future for our families and
friends. We better reach out and join forces, to put prosperity back on our road map.

“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face,
tho’ they come from the ends of the earth!”
From ‘The Ballad of East and West’, Rudyard Kipling (1895)
2nd year, no. 3 5
The Dutch Vietnam Management
Hopstaken
Ser vices Supporter

Matching West & East:

how our differences do make a difference
A Sound Future
These days, many people worry about the current state of affairs in the world. More than before, people
are aware of the impact this has on our daily life. Our job certainty, our children’s future, our old age …
Nightmares about a jobless, income-less situation, where we cannot properly take care of our family. This
fear entangles millions in times of crisis, East & West. It takes real courage to face this reality. Only those
who are able to face it and take appropriate action, will survive—well. The others will have nightmares,
stress and worries. So how to move from fear of worsening to being able to face reality, an act? How to
be courageous? The major point is, to realize that there is only NOW. Only today you can make a diffe-
rence. And the difference between many Eastern & Western countries is simply, that in the West, many
have forgotten how to survive. The last period when Europeans were in real trouble, was during the Se-
cond World War. Americans? They still haven’t recovered from ‘9/11’. Vietnamese? You have survived a
century of exploitation, suppression, occupation, turmoil, famine and fighting. One of your qualities is to
face the NOW, and to work hard towards the future. You don’t look back. Despite our differences, this
attitude will make the difference. In your advantage! That’s why I believe in a sound future for Vietnam.

Right: in their final year, 6 Vietnamese and 1 Chinese for-

med the ‘Sound Future’ team at Dutch Delta University,
Deventer, The Netherlands. They did very well in creating a
virtual company that promised a ‘sound future’. Right now, all
are back in their home country.
Students are most important: they learn about creating a better
world, methods and techniques to make this happen, and they
all have dreams about creating a worth while future—one
where families have a good life, and do their part in establis-
hing a sound future for their offspring. From left to right:
Dung, Ha, Lan, Huong, Thao, Su & Duc. May 2, 2006.

As their teacher, I’m convinced they all have a sound future.

When they need their teacher, they know where he is. LH

Tulips in Holland, tulips in Vietnam

In the Netherlands, or ‘Holland’, I grew up in the ‘tulip area’. As
a boy I made my first money helping tulip farmers to ‘peel tulip
bulbs’. During 5 weeks each spring, the ‘Keukenhof’ is the most fa-
mous flower park in the
world. I was there in May
(left). A few weeks later in
HCMC I found this wall
painting (right). It depicts
the same park! A
‘different’ match!
LH

“When we lose the right to be different, we lose the right to be free.”

Charles Evans Hughes
2nd year, no. 3 6
The Dutch Vietnam Management Supporter
STANDING OFFER:
EXPERIENCE HOW HOPSTAKEN MAKES A DIFFERENCE
A theory serves its purpose when it increases someone’s practical skills. The
English say: ‘The proof of the pudding is in the eating’. There is only one MINI-CATALOGUE
way to get to know my way of training: by experiencing it. An overview of Hopstaken services.

During my next stay in HCMC (November 2008—April 2009) I plan to Workshops

deliver more lectures like the ones I delivered in July. A workshop is a 2-4 day group activity
However, I can deliver a lecture (1-2 hours) or a full seminar (3-4 hours) in with a defined purpose, where theory,
your company. You choose the topic. For ideas, see ‘mini-catalogue’ (right). practical exercise and exchange of
Two conditions: the participants should be able to understand English, experiences are the main ingredients.
and the maximum number is 40. Areas: HRM, PR, Communication,
and Management.
If this seminar or lecture leads to delivery of a next  Team Engineering
service to your company, the cost of this seminar or  Communication
lecture will be deducted from your first bill.  Commercial Communication
 Public Relations
If you are interested, please let me know. Please name the topic AND name  Effective Meetings
the period in which it will be feasible for your team to attend the seminar. If
 Organizational Design
you are interested in this offer, please get in touch.
 Intercultural Communication
For contact information, see page 7.  Time Management/Efficiency
 Personnel Selection (NEW)
The pictures were
taken mid October, Consulting
the autumn season in Consulting is any specified expert
the Netherlands. activity to help solve a defined
Top: The industrial problem. This can take the form of
zone near The Ha- coaching, but also, conducting a
gue—view from the research. By definition, it is tailor
head office of made. Areas: HRM, Strategy, PR.
Voerman  Management Coach
International (UTS),  Corporate Strategy
a relocation company  Mediation
that services many  Personal Coach
major multinationals.  Executive Selection
Voerman has been a
 In- & External Surveys
client of Hopstaken
for over 7 years. Seminars
A seminar is a 3-4 hour interactive
transference of core know-how,
VIEWPOINTS FROM THE FAR WEST combined with practical assignments.
 People Management
Bottom: One of the  Emotions in the workplace
old canals in Amster-
 Conflict Handling (NEW)
dam, home of Heine-
ken beer, and since  Business Ethics
recently, Philips.  The All Round Manager™
Hopstaken delivered  The All Round
services to both. From Communicator™ (NEW)
early 17th century
Investments
Amsterdam trade
Workshops: US $ 1,500 per team/day.
ships sailed to desti-
Consulting / Coaching: US $ 90-120
nations in the Far
per hour.
East— including
Seminars: US $ 600 per seminar;
Vietnam. The
US$ 350 per lecture (except the ‘All
Amsterdam Dutch
Round’ seminar programs).
are no strangers to
Train-the-Trainer: US 1,500 per day.
Vietnamese shores! ...
2nd year, no. 3 7

Hopstaken
The Dutch Vietnam Management
Ser vices Supporter

This newsletter is written & published by Loek Hopstaken.

Hopstaken Services
Vietnam— 62/44 Duong So 6, Phuong 5, Go Vap District
Ho Chi Minh City
The Netherlands— Gouden Leeuw 628—Amsterdam
Email: loek.hopstaken@gmail.com / loek@hopstaken.com
Mobile VN: 09 0888 9450
Mobile NL: (31)(0)6 5109 7328

Assistant: Ms. Vo Ngoc Lien Huong

Email: jane.hopstaken@gmail.com
Mobile VN: 09 7684 6156
Website: www.hopstaken.com
(in Dutch; summary in English)
After working as HRM specialist, Department Head (Job Evaluation Dept.) and
Who is Loek Hopstaken?
Project Manager (HRM, PR, TQM) for 30 years, including 5 years as a teacher of
business administration at an international management school, I was appointed 1951: born in Haarlem, The
Professor. It’s the title I’m most proud of. Teaching is the true crown on any career. Netherlands
1971: first major journey through
Asian countries
1972-1975: Amsterdam University
1976-1993: career in banking:
NCB, Postgiro (state bank),
Postbank, NMB Postbank Group,
ING Bank
1979-1982: business administration
studies (evening study)
1983-1988: project manager
privatization Postgiro into
Postbank (field: HRM)
1989-1993: project manager
formation of ING Group (fields:
PR/ TQM)
1991: founded of own company:
Hopstaken Bedrijfsadvies
1993: left ING Bank; started career
in training and consultancy
1996-2000: business club MC
2001: started mediation career
2003-2008: combining training &
consultancy for companies with
teaching at an international mana-
gement school
2005: appointed Professor
2006: started exploring the Vietna-
mese market
2007: first 3 visits to Vietnam
2008: 4th & 5th extended stays in
Vietnam: lecturing, consulting,
employee surveying, delivering
workshops at universities, training
trainers.
Full cv available.